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Lawrence Chung

A high-level American defence industry delegation arrived in Taipei on Tuesday for a four-day visit aimed at expanding the US role in the island’s military modernisation process and the joint production of weapons systems.
The party includes 41 senior executives, and the visit was organised by the US-Taiwan Business Council, which has long served as a bridge for the defence industry.
The trip underscores a growing overlap between strategic cooperation and arms sales as Taiwan seeks to strengthen deterrence under mounting military pressure from Beijing.
The delegation is led by retired general Charles Flynn, a former commander of US Army Pacific, and is expected to meet a number of senior Taiwanese officials.
The council said they would discuss issues ranging from speeding up the delivery of US arms to supporting the development and production of Taiwan’s own weapons systems.
Delegates will also visit defence innovation centres and think tanks, as well as taking part in the 2026 Taiwan-US Defence Industry Forum in Taipei on Thursday.
While framed as a defence industry exchange, the trip reflects a broader shift in Taiwan-US defence ties, moving beyond conventional arms sales towards joint manufacturing, integrated supply chains and longer-term cooperation.
The island is becoming an increasingly important market for US defence firms as it increases military spending and looks for partners to reduce procurement bottlenecks and help it become more self-reliant.
“The conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have made one thing crystal clear: we must integrate conventional and asymmetric capabilities to deter aggression,” Flynn said in a statement released by the council.
He added that Taiwan “cannot afford to wait” and must prepare for a cross-strait crisis.
Flynn said the delegation wanted to deepen ties between the commercial and security sectors in areas such as drone warfare, command-and-control, logistics and dual-use technologies.
“These efforts will enhance interoperability, build joint capacity for the global market, and forge the positional advantage that binds us together and denies success to any adversary,” he said. “There is no time to waste and I look forward to the work.”


Flynn is also due to speak at the opening of the forum, which is co-hosted by the council and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council in Taipei.
Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers will also speak at the event and moderate a panel on joint production and development.
Flynn’s presence adds strategic weight to the visit.
As commander of US Army Pacific from 2021 to 2024, he played a central role in shaping Washington’s land forces across the Indo-Pacific during a period of intensifying rivalry with mainland China.
He has also become one of the more outspoken retired US military figures on Taiwan.
In May last year, he told a congressional hearing about the importance of US training for the Taiwanese military and visited the island two months later as an observer during the Han Kuang exercise.
He was reported to have inspected defence deployments along the Tamsui River in New Taipei City during the drill, Taiwan’s largest annual war game.
He also took part in a security forum in Taipei last month, where he called for “creative ways” to include Taiwan in joint military exercises with regional partners despite the political constraints.
At the same forum, Flynn used unusually blunt language to argue against complacency about military threats from Beijing, saying “evil cannot be appeased”. He also said Taiwan had a fundamental responsibility to be prepared to defend itself.
The US has been pushing Taiwan to improve its military readiness, not only through buying arms but also through reforms, better training and by strengthening industrial resilience.


That message has grown more prominent as Washington and Taipei increasingly focus on longer-term industrial cooperation and supply chain security.
Taiwan has in recent years expanded efforts to promote its own defence industry as well as deepening ties with US firms in areas such as drones, communications, logistics and technology tied to asymmetric warfare.
While Flynn’s visit is unofficial and led by a business group rather than serving military officers, Beijing has repeatedly expressed its opposition to stronger defence ties between Washington and Taipei, which it views as interference in its internal affairs.
US arms sales and defence cooperation with the island remain among the most sensitive issues in Washington’s relationship with Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited with the mainland and has never renounced the use of force to do so.
Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


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The delegation is being led by former general Charles Flynn, who has become one of the most outspoken US military voices on Taiwan


The delegation is being led by former general Charles Flynn, who has become one of the most outspoken US military voices on Taiwan.


Drones

United States

US-China Business Council

What a US defence industry trip to Taiwan says about Taipei’s efforts to overhaul military

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The delegation is being led by former general Charles Flynn, who has become one of the most outspoken US military voices on Taiwan

The delegation is being led by former general Charles Flynn, who has become one of the most outspoken US military voices on Taiwan