Press Release:
The US-Taiwan Business Council Comments on the Proposed Foreign Military Sale of Return, Repair, and Reshipment of Spare Parts to Taiwan

(Arlington, Virginia, September 17, 2024)

The US-Taiwan Business Council today welcomed the announcement of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Taiwan of return, repair, and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment at an estimated total cost of US$228 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certifications notifying Congress of the proposed Taiwan arms sale on September 16, 2024.

The published Congressional Notification (transmittal number 24-81) is for the return, repair, and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment, as well as for U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services and other related elements of logistics and program support.

Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers commented, “The Biden Administration appears to remain committed to a steady cadence of Taiwan security assistance. This arms sale supports sustainment of Taiwan’s military through the servicing of parts for aircraft and related systems. It is continuing a consistent trend, spanning almost four years, of the U.S. providing munitions and sustainment in relatively small value tranches.”

Hammond-Chambers added, “That said, American support for Taiwan force modernization has been on hold since 2020, given this singular focus on bolstering Taiwan’s defense against a kinetic D-Day style attack through sustainment and munitions procurement. Yet this scenario is not the only challenge that the Taiwan military faces. In the absence of strategic clarity over where U.S. and allied forces will assist Taiwan, the island remains forced to address all its contingencies. The absence of U.S. support for other areas – including grey zone, blockade, and quarantine scenarios – is destabilizing over time. Meanwhile, China’s force modernization continues apace.”

“It is also noteworthy that the Biden Administration appears to minimize the dollar value of each arms sale. This harks back to a pre-Trump era approach where greater than US$1 billion Taiwan arms sales were considered overly provocative toward Beijing and therefore to be avoided. This approach fits with the Biden Administration’s global, non-escalatory approach to security assistance in theaters including Ukraine and Israel.”

Source: See the DSCA website at https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales

Additional Data:

For more details on Taiwan arms sales, please visit our dedicated defense website at www.ustaiwandefense.com. The post “Taiwan Arms Sales Notified to Congress 1990-2024” contains charts showing a summary of arms sales data by year, along with a link to the raw data compiled by the Council from DSCA and other sources.