U.S. Military Assistance to Taiwan and Allies: Policy, Process, and Tactics
In this episode of DC Insiders, Host Wenchi Yu interviews Clark Cooper, former assistant secretary for political-military affairs of the US Department of State during the first Trump administration. They discuss the enduring US commitment to Taiwan, anchored in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, and the recent focus on building Taiwan's asymmetric defense capabilities. Cooper views any reported pauses in US arms sales as a "tactical recalibration" rather than a fundamental policy U-turn, noting that the bureaucratic sales process is complex, utilizing both Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) channels. He addresses the growing backlog of arms deliveries (estimated at nearly US$22 billion) as a shared concern spurred on by the war in Ukraine and the need to bolster the US defense industrial base. Finally, Cooper confirms that increased US military personnel in Taiwan are "advisors, not combatants," a measure for capacity-building and enhancing interoperability, and that despite tonal shifts in the US administration, the core bipartisan support for Taiwan, as well as for major allies Israel and Ukraine, remains strong.
