DEFENSE / U.S. arms package to help keep Taiwan's military hardware operational

Washington, Nov. 14 (CNA) The latest announcement of a potential US$330 million arms sale to Taiwan shows Washington's commitment to helping the country's military hardware maintain high operational readiness, the head of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) said on Friday.

In a USTBC news release, Rupert Hammond-Chambers welcomed what would be the first arms sale to Taiwan since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year.

"Bolstering the sustainment of legacy equipment shows our ongoing commitment to helping the Taiwan military achieve high operational rates," Hammond-Chambers said.

The proposed package, announced on Thursday, includes nonstandard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support for F-16, C-130, and Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft.

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the sale, after the proposal was approved by the State Department.

Hammond-Chambers noted that sustainment packages have long been a part of U.S. security assistance to Taiwan, with 27 such Congressional Notifications issued since 2001.

"It will be important for Taiwan to receive a mix of U.S. support that includes the maintenance of legacy equipment, coupled with expanded magazines of legacy munitions as well as missiles and mobile platforms for ground to air, ground to sea, air to air, and sea combat," he said.

On Friday, several U.S. experts said the parts and equipment are critical to Taiwan's military readiness amid China's gray-zone coercion, noting that as a result of the Chinese military's frequent activities near Taiwan, Taiwan's Air Force fighter jets require more maintenance than usual.

In an email to CNA, retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery described the arms package as important to Taiwan and "vital to military readiness."

Michael Hunzeker, an associate professor at George Mason University, said the proposed package seems eminently reasonable.

"The Taiwanese Air Force is bearing the brunt of intercepting and monitoring China's gray-zone provocations," he said. "Its aircraft are therefore wearing out faster than usual and need more maintenance than usual."

Hunzeker said Beijing will likely overreact to the arms sale announcement, potentially leading to a rise in gray-zone activity after a relatively long period of calm.

Meanwhile, John Dotson, director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute, said the arms sale to Taiwan looks to be one of a fairly straightforward nature.

"During the first year of Trump 2, the arms sales process for Taiwan appeared to be on hold, likely due to political considerations in the U.S.-China relationship," he said, noting that the timing of this latest announcement was likely not a coincidence as it came after the important meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea last month, during which the two leaders agreed to ease mutual trade restrictions and bilateral tensions.

"Arms sales to Taiwan were likely on unofficial hold until after the Trump-Xi meeting at APEC in October. But with that milestone passed, it appears that this sale was cleared to go forward," Dotson added.