47% of Taiwanese unsure of US military support — South China Morning Post
In Taiwan, 47% of respondents are not confident that the United States will continue to provide the island with military aid and sell it weapons. At the same time, 44% of respondents expressed confidence that such support would continue, while another 9% were undecided, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the annual survey by the United Daily News newspaper.
The survey has been conducted since 2010. It also recorded a shift in assessments of possible direct US military intervention. This year, 47% of respondents expect US troops to arrive to defend Taiwan, while 43% believe Washington will not do so. Two years ago, the ratio was 49% versus 42% in favor of expecting US intervention, while last year 49% of respondents said the United States would not intervene.
Delay in weapons package
The results were released ahead of a meeting scheduled for Thursday between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. Against the backdrop of the talks, a proposed $14 billion package of US weapons for Taiwan remains delayed.
William Yang, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, suggested that Xi Jinping would raise the issue of arms sales to Taiwan, including this package. According to him, Beijing expects that further delays will deepen doubts in Taiwan and among US allies about Washington's commitments in the Indo-Pacific region.
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F-16 deliveries
Uncertainty over new contracts has emerged amid delays in deliveries of US weapons already purchased by Taiwan. The first two of 66 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets ordered by Taipei are still in Hawaii a month after departing the continental United States. The aircraft, with tail numbers 6727 and 6728, arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on August 21 but have not departed for Taiwan. One attempt to fly them out this month was canceled without an official explanation.
The timing of the delay prompted speculation in Taiwan about a possible political link to the Trump-Xi meeting, but there is no public evidence of this. Other possible explanations mentioned included technical problems, the availability of tanker aircraft, and weather conditions.
In addition, 56% of respondents described military relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as tense, 27% as moderate, and 10% as friendly. The average assessment of the likelihood of war on a scale from one to ten was 4.4 points.
