While the Pentagon has declined to detail specific systems in the new $345 million weapons aid package for Taiwan, a senior department official said Tuesday it includes “asymmetric capabilities” for areas such as multi-domain awareness and air defense.
“This is really focused on self-defense capabilities,” Mara Karlin, assistant secretary of defense for strategies, plans and capabilities, told reporters on Tuesday during a Defense Writers Group discussion. “And it’s looking at things like critical defensive stockpiles, multi-domain awareness, anti-armor and air defense. And I think that’s all really important in terms of Taiwan having those asymmetric capabilities so that it can fend off attempts to undermine it.”
A memo signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 28 confirmed the Biden administration’s plans to provide Taiwan with $345 million in weapons pulled from existing Pentagon inventories using the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA)
“We are committed to helping [Taiwan] get the capability they need to defend themselves. And so, this is no change from what we’ve done in the past. So again, [it’s about providing] defensive capabilities,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on July 29 following the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Brisbane. “I think it’s important to use every instrument that we have available, every mechanism that we have available, [Foreign Military Sales], other things in addition to PDA. So it’s really using every tool that we have in the inventory.”
Air Force Brig Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, on Tuesday declined to name specific capabilities when asked on what was included in the new security assistance package for Taiwan, citing sensitivities related to operational security.
“I’m just not going to be able to get into details in terms of what those specific capabilities are,” Ryder told reporters during a press briefing. “And the reason why we are being more circumspect on this is due to operations security on the part of the Taiwanese as well as sensitivity to the diplomatic situation.”
Congress has previously authorized the Pentagon to use PDA to provide Taiwan with up to $1 billion in security assistance in fiscal year 2023.
“I strongly support President Biden’s long-delayed choice to exercise the authority Congress provided him to arm Taiwan with real capabilities to defend itself,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “This is exactly why Congress passed the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, which allows the administration to transfer substantial amounts of U.S. defense articles and services to Taiwan. I urge the president to make use of the remaining authority as soon as possible.”
The U.S. has provided billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine using PDA, which allows for expedited transfer of capabilities and munitions pulled from existing Pentagon inventories.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the new House Select Committee on China, has also urged Congress to address the backlog of Foreign Military Sale cases with Taiwan, which he has said totals nearly $19 billion (Defense Daily, Feb. 24).
“I return from my trip to Taiwan even more convinced that the time to arm Taiwan to the teeth was yesterday. Taiwan is on the frontlines of authoritarian expansion. We must surge hard power west of the international date line in order to deter a Chinese Communist Party invasion before it’s too late,” Gallagher said in February.