The US has a backlog of $14.2 billion in military equipment that Taiwan ordered in 2019 due to various acquisition issues caused by the pandemic,Defense News has reported, citing an obtained document. Republican lawmaker on the House’s Asia and Pacific panel, Steve Chabot, confirmed that the lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs Committee had gathered to discuss the matter, but did not delve into the details.
"We need to make sure that we provide Taiwan with the assistance that they need as well so that they’re not vulnerable," Chabot said.
The lawmaker further said that military shipments to Ukraine are a priority right now, but noted that the Taiwan order's issues should not be left unattended.
According to the document seen by the Defense News, the US shipped only around 16% of Taiwan's order, worth $17 billion and signed in July 2019. The US has not yet shipped any of the 66 F-16 fighter jets, worth $8 billion.
Also on the US backlog list are replacement parts for the Patriot missile system, and a bunch of what the US calls asymmetric weapons – armaments that are believed to be useful in deterring an enemy with a superior armed force. These weapons ordered by Taiwan include Stinger missiles, mobile artillery rocket systems, howitzers, Harpoon Block II surface-launched missiles and air-launched SLAM-ER missiles capable of hitting land and sea targets.
According to the US, these weapons are needed for Taiwan's "defensive" needs. At the same time, Beijing strongly opposed the sale of armaments to the island, which it considers a breakaway province that one day must join the rest of China. Apart from selling weapons to Taipei, the US routinely sends warships close to its shores and sailing through the Taiwan Strait separating the island from mainland China.
Washington has been recently warning about the alleged possibility of Chinese offensive to reconnect with the island, but at the same time, several top American officials hinted that the US is not going to enter an armed conflict with Beijing over it. At the same time, the White House vowed to do everything in its power in order to deter Beijing from nursing such plans.
The US also tried to intervene in China's relations with another entity in the region – the Solomon Islands. Washington sent several high-ranking White House officials on 18 April to try and convince the government not to sign a security agreement with China. However, on 19 April, the sides finalised and inked the pact, which allows the government to request China police and military forces to quell violent unrest in the country and will allow Chinese ships to use the islands' docs and facilities for stopovers.