UK must help arm Taiwan to ‘stop China launching war’

BRITAIN has been urged by the US to update its Taiwan arms policy amid fears that time to deter a Chinese invasion is running out.

The United States Congress is considering a new bill to streamline major arms sales to Taiwan as pressure mounts to build a credible deterrent to a potential Chinese takeover.

The bill seeks to resolve supply chain issues caused by the pandemic and demand for weapons in Ukraine. It follows reports of a $14.2billion backlog in delivering military equipment that Taiwan has already purchased.

“It is unconscionable that we can’t seem to get Taiwan the weapons it needs in a timely fashion,” said Steve Chabot, co-sponsor of the legislation and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Asia-Pacific Subcommittee.

Mr Chabot called on the UK and European allies to “step up” to help build Taiwan’s defence capabilities

“I [think] that ought to be considered. That goes with us all working together and deciding what the best weapons systems are for Taiwan’s defence and how quickly they can get there,” he said.

“Confrontation is most likely to happen if China detects weakness in Taiwan and weakness in our alliance with Taiwan. We want our allies in the region and Nato allies, especially Brits, to work together with Taiwan to make sure that they are strong so we can avoid war.”

Admiral Lee Hsi-min, Taiwan’s former chief of general staff, said there was a practical reason why the UK and European nations should rethink their approach to the country’s deterrence strategy.

The type of small, mobile, survivable weapons – so-called “asymmetric” capabilities – that are crucial to Taiwan’s defence are often co-developed between the US and Europe, and equip

‘Confrontation is most likely to happen if China detects weakness in our alliance with Taiwan’

ment has been blocked by the European side in the past, he said.

“If different countries say we would like to co-operate with the US to sell the kind of asymmetrical systems Taiwan needs ... it is also a meaningful way to stress deterrence to China not to launch a war.”

Arms sales along with military cooperation with Taiwan has long been a sensitive issue for the British Government, which does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.