TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The outgoing director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said Friday (June 14) that the institute is looking forward to long-delayed weapons shipments to Taiwan as supply chain issues are resolved. 

While hosting the last press conference of her three-year tenure, Sandra Oudkirk, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan, said supporting Taiwan's self-defense capabilities is a “top priority” for the AIT, per UDN. She said U.S weapons production backlogs resulting from the pandemic are easing and the AIT looks forward to delivering the arms purchased by Taiwan over the years. 

When asked to comment on the progress of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Oudkirk said “bolstering Taiwan's ability to defend itself is AIT's top priority." She stressed that this approach fully complies with the Taiwan Relations Act and other longstanding commitments to Taiwan.

Oudkirk said that while she wouldn't discuss breakthroughs in specific cases, it's important to note that the U.S. manufacturing sector, including military equipment and weapons production, was impacted by supply chain disruptions during the pandemic. She said these problems are “unwinding” and “We look forward to the delivery of the military capabilities that Taiwan has purchased over the past several years."

Oudkirk said the U.S. welcomes the commitments President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) made in his election victory and inaugural speeches to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and the status quo in cross-strait relations. She noted that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and many other American officials have expressed the hope that, "the PRC will not use a routine democratic activity like an election or an inauguration as a pretext for escalating tensions in this important region.”

Regarding the large-scale military exercises China has conducted against Taiwan over the past three years, she said the U.S. is deeply committed to preserving the status quo, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader region. 

She said the U.S. has consistently called on Beijing to “avoid coercive or provocative actions both in the Taiwan Straits and in other areas like the South China Sea and off Japan.” Provocative actions run the risk of a "miscalculation or an accident that could spark a broader conflict," she said.

Asked how Taiwanese industries can integrate into the U.S. defense industrial supply chain, Oudkirk believes that Taiwan, being a leader in advanced manufacturing and electronics, can play a role in the increasingly high-tech defense industry. Whether as a components supplier or in other capacities, “there are a variety of requirements Taiwanese companies would need to meet if they want to feed into the U.S. defense industrial base and defense supply chain in the U.S.” 

Oudkirk also said that various U.S. delegations have visited Taiwan, focusing on areas such as cybersecurity and drones, and both sides are interested in cooperation. Nonetheless, Taiwanese companies need to take certain steps to meet the standards of the U.S. defense industrial base.

Oudkirk took the post of Director of the AIT Taipei Office in July 2021. Raymond Greene, the deputy chief of mission of the United States Embassy in Japan, will succeed Oudkirk this summer.

Greene previously served as the deputy director of the AIT from 2018 to 2021.