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Arms purchases determined by needs, not dealers: Taiwan military

ROC Central News Agency

05/18/2022 12:34 PM

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Taiwan's decisions on acquiring weapons from the United States will not be influenced by individual arms dealers, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Wednesday after U.S. business groups objected to a U.S. official's comment on arms sales to Taiwan.

In a teleconference with the groups on May 14, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mira Resnick said Washington will adjust the types of arms it sells to Taiwan and end "most arms sales to Taiwan that do not fall under the category of 'asymmetric.'"

The groups in the meeting -- the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan and the US-Taiwan Business Council -- responded with a letter to Resnick on May 16 accusing the U.S. government of undermining Taiwan's defenses.

In a statement Wednesday, the MND backed Resnick's comments, saying Taiwan will purchase weapons from the U.S. based on its asymmetrical warfare needs in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances to provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself.

The asymmetric warfare tactic Taiwan is now deploying was jointly devised by Taipei and Washington, the MND said, and its main focus is not "specific, individual weapons systems," but "an overall strategy" meant to disrupt a Chinese invasion and prevent it from winning a decisive victory.

The weapons systems Taiwan wants to buy from Washington are those that cannot be made or would take too long to make locally, and decisions are made after careful evaluations of Taiwan's own deeds and enemy threats, the statement said.

"Those decisions will not be affected or influenced by individual arms dealers," the MND said.

In the letter sent by the business groups, they said that by only approving the sale of weapons the U.S. believes are essential for Taiwan to resist a full Chinese invasion, the U.S. government was undermining Taiwan's defenses.

The two business groups said the tactic, which is "subjectively defined," and the U.S.' latest policy would create gaps in Taiwan's military capabilities and "do immense long-term harm to Taiwan's ability to deter and defend in all phases of conflict."

"This would weaken Taiwan's defense, making it more vulnerable to a successful Chinese attack," the letter said.

The Washington-based US-Taiwan Business Council organizes the annual US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, an important platform for military exchanges and industrial cooperation between the two sides.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Joseph Yeh)

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