Taiwan urges U.S. to include it in joint weapons production list

Philadelphia, Sept. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) on Monday called on the United States to include Taiwan on a list of countries with which it engages in joint or licensed production of weapons.

In his keynote speech at the 2024 U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia, Hsu said Taiwan has never forgotten that it is responsible for its own safety and called on the U.S. and other allies to help quicken the development of weapons production.

For instance, Hsu said that if Taiwan and the U.S. deepened their collaboration in the arms industry, it would send a message to China "not to recklessly go to war with Taiwan."

Arguments for integrating Taiwan into the U.S.' "defense supply chain" include Taiwan's high-tech arms industry, professional talent and emphasis on confidentiality and occupational safety, Hsu said.

Hsu added that he hopes the U.S. will allow Taiwan to join countries such as Japan and Australia in the joint or licensed production of parts and components needed for F-16 jets and drones, thereby helping Washington expand its export of these defense articles to its allies.

As U.S. laws on technology transfers involve significant bureaucracy, which has caused delays in Taiwan's acquisition of core technologies or parts necessary for developing weapons, Hsu said he hoped Washington would revise relevant laws and regulations to simplify procedures.

Although Taiwan's arms industry attaches great importance to developing main systems independently, it relies on the free market for the manufacturing of subsystems and critical modules, Hsu said.

Hsu noted that eligible U.S. companies as well as those from other countries were welcome to participate in the development process.

In addition, Hsu said, Taiwan hopes to create a common operational picture (COP) with the U.S. to increase the compatibility between weapons systems and other military equipment on both sides.

For example, the U.S. could use datalinks to transmit coordinates of enemy targets to Taiwan's intelligence systems, thus boosting the target acquisition ability of the latter, Hsu said.

Taiwan's overall defense budget, including special budgets and nonprofit special funds, will reach record-high US$20.2 billion in 2025, representing year-over-year growth of 7.7 percent, Hsu noted.

The vice minister added that Taiwan's government is poised to continue increasing the country's defense budget after factoring in its overall finances and administrative plans.

Meanwhile, Taipei City Councilor Chao Yi-hsiang (趙怡翔), who represented the ruling Democratic Progressive Party at the conference, highlighted the need for cooperative action to remove barriers for democratic countries to sell weapons to Taiwan.

So far, only the U.S. is willing to sell weapons to Taiwan, but many advanced weapons systems are jointly developed by the U.S. and European countries, Chao later told reporters.

If Taiwan cannot overcome obstacles in securing foreign technology transfers or arms sales from countries other than the U.S., it will pose a challenge to Taiwan's bid to strengthen its defense, Chao said.

Chao added that he had suggested friends in the U.S. that they should work to remove these restrictions by making the international community realize Taiwan's acquisition of advanced weapons would help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), the KMT's representative at the forum, said her party's stance on Taiwan's defense budget had been "misrepresented."

The KMT is not attempting to block the defense budget but believes it should be strictly reviewed so that government funds are used on the most urgent items, Hsu told reporters at another forum.

The KMT is open to further increasing Taiwan's defense budget, which will reach 2.45 percent of the country's GDP next year, but believes that the U.S. should first address delays in delivering the weapons Taiwan has purchased, she said.

According to a recent report released by the Cato Institute, the value of the U.S.' backlog of the weapons it has agreed to sell but yet to deliver to Taiwan currently stands at US$20.53 billion.

Opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊), the TPP's representative at the forum, said her party was in favor of increasing Taiwan's defense budget to bolster its self-defense but would strictly review the Ministry of National Defense's requests to avoid wasteful spending.

This year's three-day defense industry conference, held from Sept. 22-24, is "a platform for discussing crucial issues surrounding defense cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and develop strategic solutions for future challenges," according to organizers.