UPDATE - US Worried Aid To Ukraine Could Cause Arms Shortage For Taiwan - Reports

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2022) US authorities are concerned that the flow of weapons to Ukraine could cause a deficit in terms of Washington's long-term plans to arm Taiwan amid increasing tensions with China, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Last December, the backlog of deliveries for Taiwan was more than $14 billion, and has since grown to $18.7 billion, the newspaper said on Sunday, citing government and congressional officials.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal that 208 Javelin anti-tank weapons ordered in December 2015, as well as 215 surface-to-air Stinger missiles ordered that same year, have not yet arrived on the island.

Defense companies, including Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. have pointed out that there were setbacks in production even before Russia started its special operation in Ukraine, in part due to supply chain problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, neither the US State Department nor Pentagon have acknowledged the backlog in terms of deliveries to Taiwan, according to the newspaper.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that twenty of NATO's 30 members have exhausted their potential in terms of weapon supplies to Ukraine.

When Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine in February, stockpiles for many NATO countries were only about half of what they were supposed to be, one NATO official told the newspaper.

Western countries have been providing Kiev with humanitarian, military and financial aid amid Russia's operation. Moscow has denounced the flow of weapons to Ukraine from its Western allies, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov having stressed that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has revealed shortcomings of the US defense industry, which may undermine Washington's ability to counter China in a possible war over Taiwan. In particular, the United States has depleted its reserves of some military systems and ammunition, including M777 howitzers, 155-millimeter caliber shells, Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger air defense systems, as the majority of them have been supplied to Ukraine, according to the newspaper.