Taiwan racing to arm itself as US reliability wanes

With the US increasingly distracted by the Iran war and China becoming more assertive, Taiwan is reshaping its defenses for a more uncertain era.

This month, Reuters reported that Taiwan is executing a major strategic defense shift by dramatically expanding its anti-ship missile arsenal to more than 1,800 weapons by early 2029 to counter the mounting threat of a Chinese blockade or invasion. This massive stockpiling initiative relies heavily on acquiring 400 advanced US-made Harpoon cruise missiles, with full delivery scheduled between 2026 and March 2029, alongside the mass production of roughly 1,000 domestic Hsiung Feng II and III missiles.

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