US Congress eyes to speed up supply of arms to Taiwan

The US Congress is working on bills that will speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan and get rid of bureaucratic obstacles, Report informs.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., told Defense News that the panel is “working on bills now to help expedite and to reduce red tape to get defense items that are needed out in a quicker fashion.”

In the meantime, the massive weapons backlog illustrates how the unwieldy, slow-moving Foreign Military Sales process is undermining US efforts to deter Beijing in the Pacific region.

The reasons — including government delays, supply chain issues and production requirements — are numerous, and the problem won’t be easy to fix, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member on the committee, told Defense News.

The US government has approved the sale of 10 weapons systems Taiwan has yet to receive — some of which are not slated for delivery until the end of the decade.

Right now, the US is intensely focused on getting weapons to Ukraine and its European allies as Kyiv seeks to fend off a Russian invasion.