Delays in Arms Procurement Have Rendered National Defense Resilience Empty Slogan
United Daily News Editorial, November 6, 2025
Since taking office, President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly emphasized national security resilience and social resilience, and has declared that next year’s defense budget will exceed 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Yet Taiwan’s large-scale military purchases from the United States have been repeatedly delayed—none of the 66 F-16 fighter jets have arrived. It is reported that the total value of U.S. military equipment owed to Taiwan has reached NT$657.2 billion (about US$21.2 billion). The Ministry of National Defense (MND) recently denied this, saying that the delayed U.S. deliveries include three items—F-16 fighters, AGM-154 missiles, and Mk-48 torpedoes—amounting to more than NT$240 billion (about US$7.7 billion), not over NT$600 billion (about US$19.3 billion).
A closer look suggests the MND’s claim may be obfuscation. The figure of over NT$600 billion comes from U.S. lawmakers’ queries, which state that approved but undelivered arms sales to Taiwan total US$20 billion, roughly over NT$600 billion. Yet the 66 F-16s alone are valued at NT$247.2 billion (about US$7.9 billion); adding missiles, torpedoes and other items, it is implausible that the U.S. only owes NT$240 billion. The MND appears deliberately evasive.
The United States urges Taiwan to strengthen its self-defense capabilities with urgency; but when it comes to delivering arms, it delays whenever possible. Take the F-16s, AGM-154 missiles and Mk-48 torpedoes: they were originally to be delivered by the end of next year, but two items have been pushed to 2028; as for the 66 F-16s, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo only dares to say “there will definitely be aircraft delivered next year.” Minister Koo also stated that Harpoon and Stinger missiles remain “on schedule” and have not been delayed. In fact, “on schedule” refers to the most recently revised timeline; compared with the original plan, nearly every item is behind.
Take the Harpoon missiles as an example. In 2020 they were fast-tracked citing urgent operational need. At that time the MND said the United States warned that the cross-strait military imbalance would peak between 2025 and 2027, requiring rapid capability upgrades; the missiles were to enter service from 2023 and be completed by 2025. When budgets were actually allocated, the quantity grew from 32 to 100 sets, but delivery was pushed to 2025–2029—beyond the cross-strait “danger period”—making them of little immediate help. The year is nearly over and not a single Harpoon set has arrived.
The F-16 special statute stipulates execution until 2026. The MND had said the first two jets would be delivered in 2023 and all would be completed by 2026. Yet so far American firms have assembled only one aircraft and it has not flown. Foreign reports indicate F-16 annual production capacity does not exceed 26 aircraft, with over 128 undelivered orders from other countries; Taiwan cannot predict when it will receive its full complement.
Domestic weapons projects have also been rocky. The indigenously built submarine Hai Kun was due for handover this month, but is stalled on basic issues of battery charging and control-system integration and has not yet submerged. Neither the Navy nor CSBC Corporation can estimate when these problems will be resolved. The T-5 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainer—promoted as a showcase—was supposed to deliver 18 units last year and 18 this year, but Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) only completed last year’s schedule in April.
Since the second term of President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration from 2020, the defense budget has surged: next year’s broad-based expenditure will reach 3 percent of GDP, with plans to move toward 5 percent. The NT$1.3 trillion (about US$41.9 billion) special budget for “asymmetric warfare and operational resilience” will soon be submitted to the legislature. The public sees soaring military spending while deliveries crawl, and naturally grows skeptical. Social media is full of posts and short videos mocking Taiwan as the “big sucker” of arms procurement—expensive, poor-quality gear—and claiming “arms purchases are just protection fees.” While such online commentary may oversimplify, corruption and decay breed problems; many government-promoted arms acquisitions lag behind schedule, and thus cannot convince the public.
Delays in U.S. deliveries stem partly from the dual shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, and partly from aging U.S. defense industry supply chains. The United States may not intend to profit from “protection fees,” but that does not mean the military-industrial complex does not seek wartime profits. Taiwan must be able to distinguish between urgently needed and nonessential weapons systems, and avoid blindly following foreign arms dealers.
More critically, international politics requires both soft and hard approaches; one should not ingratiate one side while vilifying the other, leaving no room for maneuver. Paying but failing to receive weapons is utterly foolish; equally foolish is to wait day after day without payment while pretending we will have a robust defense system.