《TAIPEI TIMES》 Election results do not affect US arms sales: AIT head

By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA

US arms sales to Taiwan would not be affected by the results of Saturday’s local elections, American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） Director Sandra Oudkirk said yesterday.

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The AIT has closely monitored the elections via local reports, campaign materials and debates, which showed the primary focus to be local issues, she told a news conference at the institute in Taipei.

A nation’s self-defense capabilities are crucial to deterrence and the US takes seriously its responsibility to assist Taiwan under its Taiwan Relations Act, she said.

The US structures Taiwan arms deals according to the nation’s self-defense requirements, which are not affected by electoral outcomes, she said, adding that US policy has been and would remain unchanged.

Asked about the election results, Oudkirk said that free and fair elections are expressions of the will of the people, adding that Taiwan’s rapid democratic transformation is an achievement Taiwanese should be proud of.

Asked about United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao’s （曹興誠） remarks before the elections that a Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） victory could impede the nation’s efforts to obtain advanced weapons, Oudkirk said that all politicians have a responsibility to avoid war.

In related news, the Ministry of National Defense denied that US arms sales to Taiwan have been severely affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that a backlog in US arms deliveries to Taiwan has widened to nearly US$19 billion.

The backlog grew from US$14 billion in December last year to US$18.7 billion, the newspaper said.

They include orders for 208 Javelin anti-tank weapons and 215 Stinger anti-aircraft systems placed in 2015, the newspaper said, citing US congressional officials and other sources familiar with the issue.

Ministry spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang （孫立方） told a news conference that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have delayed the deliveries of weapons, but added that the situation is under control.

The ministry would not excuse itself from the responsibility of acquiring arms for the defense of the nation, and is working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and US officials to resolve problems, he said.

Arms sales from the US are on the whole progressing as planned and inside of manageable margins, he said, adding that the ministry would not share details of ongoing weapons transfers, as they are national secrets between Taiwan and the US.

Separately, the White House on Monday said that the US “takes very seriously our responsibility to help provide Taiwan [with] the self-defense capabilities that it needs.”

The stance is “in accordance with law and policy and that is not going to change,” said John Kirby, the US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications.

The US is balancing its inventories with that of its allies, partners, arms sales clients and the Ukrainian armed forces’ fight against Russian aggression, he told a routine news conference.

Every decision by US President Joe Biden to draw weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpiles is made following assessments by defense officials on the effects of such transfers on US military readiness, he added.

“We are in constant touch with, again, allies and partners about their readiness needs, because many of them are reliant on US systems... That includes Taiwan,” he said.

The Pentagon does not disclose information about the inventory of any US weapons systems, he added.

Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES