Taiwan to join U.S.-led initiative to tackle weapons supply constraints

Philadelphia, Sept. 24 (CNA) The United States will soon launch the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) with at least 12 of its allies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, including Taiwan, to address supply chain constraints regarding weapons, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday.

Jedidiah Royal, the U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, made the announcement during a closed-door speech he gave at the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia, a source who attended the event told CNA.

The U.S. will chair an inaugural meeting of the PIPIR in Hawaii in two weeks, the source quoted Royal as saying.

The new initiative is expected to jump-start collaborations with the U.S.' allies, including Taiwan, to address "defense industrial base (DIB) vulnerabilities" by fast-tracking the production of weapons systems, the source quoted Royal as saying.

Royal underlined the importance of collaboration with the U.S.' Indo-Pacific allies, citing as examples its projects with Japan to jointly produce missiles and with India to co-produce fighter jet engines, according to the source.

Royal said a U.S. trade mission consisting of 20 companies is currently in Taiwan seeking unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS business opportunities, which is a crucial step in helping Taiwan develop its indigenous manufacturing capacity in such systems, according to the source.

Royal also applauded the then record-high defense budget of US$18.8 billion passed by Taiwan's Legislature last December.

He expressed hope that Taiwan's lawmakers, who are currently reviewing the general budget, will continue to support increases in the country's defense spending so the U.S. can continue to assist Taiwan and ensure it has sufficient self-defense capability, according to the source.

A three-day 2024 U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference began in Philadelphia on Sunday, with Greg Hermsmeyer, director of the Office of Security Assistance under the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, scheduled to give a closing speech on Tuesday.