Ex-US admiral calls for arms sales action

The US should move ahead with arms sales notifications for Taiwan following the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Thursday, a retired senior US Navy officer said yesterday.

Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral, told reporters in Taipei that the Trump-Xi summit had delayed the announcements of proposed sales and he hoped the summit would have no further effect on them, urging Washington to avoid further delays.

“We need to make the arms sale notifications so that Taiwan can get in line, so that they can get these weapons when they’re ready,” Montgomery said.

The White House was mum on whether Taiwan was even addressed at the meeting.

The Chinese side said Xi called on the US to oppose Taiwan independence and “handle the Taiwan question with prudence,” China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

It did not mention weapons sales being discussed.

Montgomery said that US lawmakers were concerned about delays to the sales, and drew a distinction between notifying the US Congress of a proposed deal and delivering the weapons.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has linked the delays to the US military’s need for weapons, Montgomery said.

However, delivery constraints should not hold up notifications, he added.

Some weapons proposed for Taiwan are not needed by the US military, he said.

Washington should send notifications to the Congress as soon as possible, he said, adding that a proposed US$14 billion sale, which has been stalled since early this year, could be divided into several smaller packages announced over a few weeks.

Asked about Xi’s remarks about Taiwan during the summit, Montgomery said that the Chinese leader had an interest in raising the issue.

What mattered more was how Trump responded and what the US government did afterward, he said.

Continued adherence to the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances” should be reflected in US actions, including providing Taiwan with weapons for its self-defense and preparing for a potential regional crisis, Montgomery said.

However, arms sales alone would not be enough, he said, adding that the US’ and Taiwan’s militaries need to improve their ability to operate together through air and naval exercises, training and joint planning.

“It’s very hard to cooperate and fight together in wartime if you don’t work together in peacetime,” Montgomery said.

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