(AFP) – Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to contradict a senior Navy official on Saturday, saying there had been “no change” in Washington’s position on Taiwan despite the Middle East war straining US weapons stockpiles. Taiwan lives under the threat of an attack from China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to seize it. The United States does not recognise democratic Taiwan diplomatically but is legally bound to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said this month that weapons sales to Taiwan had been paused to ensure the US military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations. However, Hegseth said at a major security forum in Singapore on Saturday that US arms stocks were “in a very good place”. “Hung Cao is fantastic, but I would not couple the two in any way at all,” he said in apparent reference to the Middle East war and Taiwan’s defence commitments. “I feel good about not only where we are, but where we are in future production rates as well,” the former Fox News host said. “Any decision about future Taiwan arms sales, as the president said, will rest with him… (but) there’s no change in our status there, just to clarify.”
Asked at a congressional hearing about a stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury — which we have plenty.” “But, we’re just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.” Epic Fury is the name of the US military operation in Iran.
Hegseth was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of defence officials and experts from dozens of countries. Taiwan is not officially represented at the forum, and China, for the second consecutive year, has sent a watered-down delegation that does not include its defence minister. With a deal between the United States and Iran to end the war still out of reach, Hegseth said Washington was “more than capable” of restarting the conflict if it wanted. “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions,” he said.
© 2024 AFP
