Sharjah24 - Reuters: The U.S. government is considering a plan to jointly produce weapons with Taiwan, a business lobby said on Wednesday, an initiative intended to speed up arms transfers to bolster Taipei's deterrence against China.
U.S. presidents have approved more than $20 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan since 2017 as China has ramped up military pressure on the democratically-governed island Beijing claims as its own territory.
But Taiwan and the U.S. Congress have warned of delivery delays because of supply chain difficulties and backlogs caused by increased demand for some systems due to the war in Ukraine.
"It's right at the beginning of the process," Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, which counts numerous U.S. defense contractors as members, said of the plan.
Hammond-Chambers said it was yet to be determined which weapons would be considered as part of the effort, though it would likely focus on providing Taiwan with more munitions and long-established missile technology.
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