Congress is working on relevant bills.
The US Congress is working on a number of bills that should accelerate the delivery of weapons to American allies, in particular, Taiwan. Gregory Meeks, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Defense News.
Nearly a dozen Dongfeng ballistic missiles flew over Taiwan earlier this month as China conducted large-scale military exercises in response to a visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. US Congress Nancy Pelosi to the island.
During these exercises, Chinese naval forces took up positions on the eastern side of Taiwan for the first time, completely surrounding the island. China's message was clear: Beijing could easily blockade the island, wreaking havoc on global supply chains and preventing the United States and allies from supplying arms to Taiwan's military.
The incident prompted US lawmakers to stress the need to export as many weapons to Taiwan as possible. , to deter China from a blockade or outright invasion of the island.
While the U.S. sees these arms sales as an integral part of deterring China from attacking Taiwan, some still-unimplemented deals were publicly announced as early as 2017. Taiwan faces a $14 billion backlog in its purchase of US military equipment.
“Our ultimate goal is for Taiwan to be strengthened and in the best position to thwart [the People's Liberation Army of China's] objectives and to give ourselves a choice in how we respond,” the spokeswoman said Republican Senate Lara Crouch.
“There should be a constant relationship between US policy on arms sales to Taiwan and the degree to which the threat from Beijing is either increasing or decreasing,” she added, noting that the weapons give the island “the ability to defend itself in the event of a full-scale invasion, cyber attack or other scenarios.”
Congress is trying to resolve the issue of arms shipments to Taiwan, as well as other possible delays in arms sales to Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks told Defense News that congressmen are “now working on bills to help speed up and reduce the red tape to get needed defense equipment as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, the arms backlog illustrates how the cumbersome, slow process of selling weapons to allies is undermining US efforts to contain China in the Pacific.
The reasons, including government delays, supply chain issues and manufacturing requirements, are many, making the challenge difficult to solve, according to Congress representative Mike McCaul.
Read also: Taiwan fired a warning shot at a Chinese drone
Earlier it was reported that the US is preparing an official request to Congress asking to allow the sale of arms to Taiwan.
Related video
It is a military package with a total cost of $1.1 billion, which will include 60 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles for $355 million, 100 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder tactical missiles for $85.6 million, and $655.4 million for a contract for reconnaissance radar. American F-16 fighters for Taipei will also be equipped with Sidewinder missiles. However, the package is still under preparation and could still change.
See Special Topic: US-China Confrontation China's armed forces are put on alert amid the passage of warships The US near Taiwan The Chinese military has said it is ready to stop provocations at any time. Will the increase of the Russian army help in the war in Ukraine: the answer of the Ministry of Defense of Britain At the moment it is not yet known whether we are talking about contract workers or about the increase in conscription into the army for military service. China announces new military exercises around Taiwan amid new visit by US delegation China says it wants to establish its control over Taiwan peacefully, but its strengthened military exercises around the island in connection with the active support of the Americans for the independence of the island state indicate the threat of seizure by force. Taiwan rejects China's “one country, two systems” plan for the island Beijing, for its part, does not rule out the use of force to seize Taiwan. China again threatens to use military force to seize Taiwan Beijing says it will “make efforts to achieve peaceful reunification” with the island, but will not back down if necessary and from the military.
