State Department Says It’s ‘Not Possible’ to Accelerate Many Taiwan Arms Sales
The new admission comes as Congress worries the administration isn’t acting quickly enough.
The new admission comes as Congress worries the administration isn’t acting quickly enough.
T he State Department has told Congress that it can’t expedite many delayed shipments of weapons sold to Taiwan. That pessimistic outlook came in a report delivered to lawmakers in April.
“In many cases accelerated delivery is not possible due to lengthy material lead times, global supply chain issues, and production limits for legacy equipment within the defense industrial base,” states the report, the unclassified portion of which was recently obtained by National Review. It adds that while the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and other agencies are prioritizing Taiwan arms sales to the extent possible, “limited resources cause ongoing strain.”
While officials and analysts were already aware of production constraints, this was a blunt acknowledgment of the limitations holding the U.S. back from expediting delivery of weapons to Taiwan as multiple U.S. officials have warned of the possibility of a Chinese invasion in the future.
“The administration still hasn’t fully implemented Congress’s defense reforms for Taiwan, but what we’ve seen so far confirms a grim picture. The backlog in arms sales for Taiwan isn’t getting any better, and the State Department doesn’t think it’s possible to accelerate many deliveries,” said Bryan Burack, a senior policy adviser for China at the Heritage Foundation, whom NR asked to review the document.
The State Department report, which also detailed the status of arms sales to other Indo-Pacific countries, suggests that the fulfillment of Taiwan’s purchase of Harpoon anti-ship missiles is several years away, with an estimated delivery sometime between 2025 and 2029. It also gives estimated delivery dates for a range of other “significant” systems including Stingers (2025), Javelins (2023–24), HIMARS (2024–25), and others totaling $25 million in foreign military sales. Many, but not all, of these shipments are delayed.
The report was delivered pursuant to the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act (TERA), a provision in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act. That bill granted the executive branch a host of new powers and funding — up to $10 billion — to boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
It also mandated that the administration file a series of reports to Congress on the state of Taiwan’s defenses, U.S. arms-shipment programs, and other topics relevant to Washington’s plans to assist Taipei to deter an attack.
Some of those reports have been delivered late. The weapons-sales report was delivered on April 17, a month and a half after its due date of March 1. Another report due March 1, detailing the administration’s plan to spend funds to implement the law, was only delivered on May 16, the day of a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing featuring testimony from Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
There are also questions about the quality of the reports. In fact, the State Department seemed to suggest it has inadequate resources to fulfill the reporting requirements, acknowledging in the April 17 report that details “may be incomplete due to the massive undertaking to collect the appropriate information.”
Commenting on the administration’s handling of the reporting requirements, Senator Marco Rubio suggested in a statement to NR last month that the administration is wary of provoking a strong response from Beijing. “President Biden cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party’s reaction to dictate when the administration announces and delivers security assistance to Taiwan. What matters is how the assistance improves America’s ability to protect its interests in the Indo-Pacific and how to best deter the Chinese from attempting to forcefully annex the island,” he said.
Additional reports, on Taiwan’s intelligence capabilities and America’s plan to assist the country’s defensive efforts, are due later this month.
As of Friday, the State Department has acknowledged — but not yet answered — questions from NR about its implementation of the law. The White House National Security Council did not respond to an email on the topic.
While Republicans have been the most vocal about the delayed reports, members of Congress from both parties are laser-focused on breaking the logjam that has caused the delay of arms shipments, worth over $19 billion. Last month, the House select committee on the CCP unanimously adopted a set of proposals to boost deterrence against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, recommending that Congress enhance its oversight of foreign military sales, provide grants to Taiwan so that it can “acquire urgently needed capabilities,” and expedite the shipment of Harpoons to the country.
“Hardening Taiwan’s defense in the short term will require the State Department and Pentagon to leverage all the authorities Congress gave them,” Burack said. These authorities could include an emergency arms transfer from U.S. stockpiles as authorized by TERA, according to the April 17 report. Austin confirmed media reports that the U.S. was preparing such a $500 million package for Taiwan during the Senate appropriations hearing last month.
Later during the hearing, Austin acknowledged “friction points” holding up defense-industrial production, adding that he and other officials have engaged with industry CEOs to expand capacity and shrink production times.