Taiwan may remain without arms supplies from the US — WSJ.

Taiwan worries about limited arms supplies in the event of a conflict with China

US involvement in wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as issues of support provided to countries, contribute to the limitation of the main defense industrial base in the West. Therefore, Taiwan is beginning to worry that in the event of a conflict with China, it may lack weapons. For many years, Washington has been Taiwan's main partner, supplying it with weapons to deter and protect against possible Chinese aggression.

China considers Taiwan its territory and does not rule out the use of force to establish control over it.

The problems faced by the American defense industry include a shortage of microchips, equipment, and skilled workers. This year, due to supply issues, the delivery of arms to Taiwan worth more than $20 billion has been delayed.

"The harsh truth is that the current US defense industrial base does not produce enough and on-Time equipment to meet global demand," said Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim.

Western arms manufacturers are now focused on supplying more weapons to Ukraine to help it narrow the gap with Russia.

"If there is a blockade and the war continues, eventually, Taiwan will run out of weapons," said former US Air Force officer Hermantes Lailari.

Even under normal circumstances, the process of transferring weapons can take several years due to lengthy payment, production, and delivery processes. The sale of 66 new F-16 fighters to Taiwan, approved by the Trump administration in 2019, will not be completed before 2026.

Taiwan started to worry about future arms supplies even before the war in Ukraine began in 2022. Therefore, a new military department was created on the island to improve arms procurement and accelerate the domestic development of advanced defense technologies.

Source: ZN.UA