TAIPEI, March 25 - The United States is treating the acceleration of weapons deliveries to Taiwan with what the island's defence leadership describes as a high level of urgency, Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday.
Koo told reporters at parliament that Washington is taking concrete steps to help reduce slippages in shipments of military equipment ordered by Taiwan. The minister said many of the systems included in Taiwan's procurement plans have already started to arrive or are in the delivery phase.
However, Koo acknowledged there have been delays in some programmes. He said the U.S. has created a dedicated project team to speed up the relevant weapons programmes and to bring them back on schedule as quickly as possible. "As for the portions that have experienced delays, the United States has already set up a special project team to accelerate the relevant weapons programmes and help us catch up to schedule as quickly as possible," he said. "I have also repeatedly explained that the U.S. sense of urgency in helping us strengthen our self-defence capabilities as quickly as possible is in fact quite high."
One prominent example of the delayed purchases is a 2019 contract for 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V fighters. The upgraded F-16V configuration includes enhanced avionics, weapons and radar systems intended to improve Taiwan's ability to counter the Chinese air force, including its J-20 stealth fighters.
The defence ministry said at the weekend that deliveries of the F-16V fighter jets will begin this year and that production is at "full capacity."
Last week, Michael Miller, director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, said he signed a directive in 2023 to prioritise Taiwan above other buyers. Miller added that security cooperation and assistance for Taiwan was a top priority.
The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and arms sales have consistently been a source of friction between Washington and Beijing, which has repeatedly demanded that such transfers stop.
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