Taiwan is getting plenty of missiles and drones from the US. A top business leader says the arsenal is out of balance.

US sales and support for Taiwan have increasingly asymmetric and survivable systems. Some argue Taiwan needs to find the right balance of weapons to counter a wider range of Chinese tactics. The quickest way to bolster local defense manufacturing is to license foreign designs and produce them domestically, a former official said. The US has sent Taiwan a growing number of asymmetric weapons intended to help deter and defeat a potential Chinese invasion . Taiwan needs a more balanced arsenal of systems to counter other conflict scenarios, such as a sustained blockade, the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council recently argued. Asymmetric warfare , which relies on large numbers of relatively inexpensive, mobile, and difficult-to-target systems like drones, missiles, and dispersed units, offers Taiwan an advantage against the military might of China. But more conventional capabilities, such as those needed to sustain operations, defend sea lanes, and maintain air and missile defense over time, are still necessary should China attempt to blockade the island. In recent years, US military support has skewed away from those needs. The asymmetric bet At a Hudson Institute think tank event earlier this month, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, described the state of US military aid to Taiwan as out of balance. Hammond-Chambers said that US arms sales have "swung from one extreme" - the weapons deals years ago for MQ-9 Reaper drones, M1A2 Abrams tanks, and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets - "to the other extreme where we're only doing asymmetric," a shift he warned leaves potential vulnerabilities. Over the last five years, the US has sold and delivered large quantities of missiles, drones, command-and-control upgrades, ammunition, software, and spare parts, marking a shift away from the higher-profile platforms like tanks and fighter jets. US officials have argued that survivable, distributed, and networked systems are better suited to helping Taiwan counter China's daily gray-zone pressure , as well as complicating Beijing's plans in a crisis or blockade. Big platforms to distributed firepower Taiwan's focus has been on building a network of asymmetric capabilities to deter and defend against a full-scale invasion, what some have referred to as a "D-Day scenario." Hammond-Chambers said military support and sales have been aligned with countering that, "but we are not doing every day, and there needs to be a swing back and more of a balance." Just this month, the US announced a massive $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan that included High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Javelin missiles, howitzers, and drones. Many of those systems are designed to be mobile, dispersed, and survivable, reinforcing Washington's emphasis on asymmetric and precision-strike capabilities. Taiwan's defense ministry said the US "continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability." Taiwan's government has also proposed billions of dollars in supplemental funding for asymmetric capabilities and an island-wide air defense system called Taiwan...

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