Taiwan says US drone orders not impacted by Middle East war

TAIPEI, March 10 (Reuters) - An order for four advanced U.S.-made MQ-9B “SkyGuardian” drones is on track and hasn’t been affected by the war ​in the Middle East, Taiwan’s air force said on Tuesday.

The air ‌force said in a statement that the order for the drones, made by General Atomics and designed for surveillance and target acquisition, is proceeding according to schedule. It has previously said it ​expects delivery of the first two later this year.

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The U.S. and Israeli ​attack on Iran, on top of the Russian invasion of Ukraine ⁠and Israel’s military operations in Gaza, has seen the U.S. draw down billions of ​dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles.

The United States is Taiwan’s main source of weapons, and Taipei ​has repeatedly complained of delivery delays due to snarled supply chains dating back to the COVID pandemic, including of F-16V fighter jets.

“Deliveries have not been affected by the fighting in the Middle East,” ​the air force statement said.

“The military remains in close contact with the U.S. ​side to ensure progress stays on track and to effectively strengthen overall national defence capabilities.”

The MQ-9 ‌series of ⁠drones has been widely used in combat situations, including by Israel over Gaza.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Tuesday at parliament, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the government had not been approached by the U.S. about transfers of weapons to the Middle ​East.

If any of Taiwan’s ​U.S.-made weapons were ⁠to be redeployed, that would only happen if the U.S. side made a request, he added.

“But so far, because of the U.S.–Iran ​war, they have not approached us about making use of ​any of ⁠our related equipment,” Koo said.

Democratically governed Taiwan is facing increased military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

South Korea ⁠cannot stop ​U.S. forces in Korea from redeploying some weapons, President ​Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday, after reports that some U.S. Patriot missile defence systems were being sent ​to the conflict in the Middle East.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kevin Buckland

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