WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Young Kim (CA-40), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-08), Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, calling on the Navy to speed up the production and sale of weapons Taiwan needs to defend itself in the instance of a Chinese Communist Party invasion, like Harpoon and SLAM-ER missiles.
In the letter, the lawmakers write, “By our own leaders’ words and warnings, time is running out to deter the Chinese Communist Party from invading Taiwan – a vital partner of the United States. At this hour of danger, however, when the United States should be arming Taiwan to the maximum to strengthen its defenses and deter Chinese aggression, bureaucratic delays within the Navy are impeding the timely production and delivery of key weapons to Taiwan – including critical anti-ship missiles – and undermining efforts to prevent war.”
In order to better understand and fix the delays in these needed weapon systems, the lawmakers ask Secretary Del Toro a number of questions, including:
- When he expects the delivery of the 400 Harpoon missiles and 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense launch systems and radar units to be completed
- What options are available to the Navy to accelerate the production and delivery of the missiles and systems to Taiwan as quickly as possible
- What are alternate paths to the standard Foreign Military Sales process that can speed up the contracting, production, and delivery of the weapons discussed in the letter
Click HERE to view a copy of the letter.
