DOD declines to detail $345M Taiwan weapons package

The Defense Department will not say what is included in a $345 million weapons package President Biden ordered for Taiwan because of operational security and the diplomatic sensitivity of the situation regarding China, according to DOD's chief spokesman.

The package, announced last Friday via presidential “drawdown” authority, will transfer weapon systems directly to Taiwan from U.S. stocks. The same authority is used for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, which DOD touts publicly with detailed documents and press conferences denouncing the ongoing Russian invasion.

But the package for Taiwan -- which China considers to be a renegade province -- is a different story.

“The reason why we are being more circumspect on this is due to operational security on the part of the Taiwanese as well as sensitivity to the diplomatic situation,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said today.

Biden’s order directing the weapons transfer to Taiwan said it includes “defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan.”

“I'm not going to be able to go into details into specific capabilities in the PDA,” Ryder said.

Previously released media statements from spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners say the systems included “critical defensive stockpiles, multidomain awareness, anti-armor and air defense capabilities."

Ryder today would not confirm that the package included drone technology.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Senate appropriators on May 16 that a PDA was in the offing for Taiwan, but Republican lawmakers blamed the White House in the following months for allegedly dragging its feet for fear of angering Beijing.

Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) released a statement Friday voicing his support for aiding Taiwan.

“I strongly support President Biden’s long-delayed choice to exercise the authority Congress provided him to arm Taiwan with real capabilities to defend itself,” he said. “This is exactly why Congress passed the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, which allows the administration to transfer substantial amounts of U.S. defense articles and services to Taiwan. I urge the president to make use of the remaining authority as soon as possible.”

Wicker said he also looks forward to working with the Biden administration and other members of Congress to use foreign military financing to provide further assistance to Taiwan.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, meanwhile, has advanced a fiscal year 2024 defense spending bill that would allocate another $1.1 billion in PDA assistance for Taiwan.