TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US is focused on completing arms deliveries to Taiwan, Austin J. Dahmer, nominee for assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
When asked by Senator Ted Budd about the progress of Harpoon missile shipments to Taiwan, Dahmer said, “The department is working very urgently and expeditiously to ensure that Taiwan has the capabilities that it needs to defend itself.”
The nominee said he visited the Harpoon missile production line in Missouri and was aware of the challenges facing the US defense industrial base.
Taiwan has purchased 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems and 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles from the US and is set to receive the first batch of missiles next year. Some launchers and radar vehicles have already arrived and transferred to the Haifeng Brigade for installation and training.
The Navy plans to establish a coastal combatant command to boost maritime combat capabilities, incorporating units such as the Haifeng Brigade, Fast Attack Boat Combat Group, and Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command.
Responding to advance policy questions, Dahmer urged Taiwan “to do more and faster” by ramping up its defense budget and purchasing the necessary weapons to counter China. He said that “the most important thing the United States and its regional allies can do is ensure they have sufficient military forces to deter China.”
Dahmer added that “maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region requires capable and interoperable allies and partners to augment our forward postured military capabilities.”
Last month, the nominee for the US Defense Department assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, John Noh, urged Taiwan to reform its “training, mobilization, civil military integration, hardening its infrastructure, strengthening its cybersecurity practices.”
Noh recommended that Taiwan increase its defense spending to 10% of its GDP to have sufficient asymmetric capabilities to fend off China. He also pledged to do his best to expedite US arms sales to Taiwan.
