Taiwan's Arms Backlog: An Op-Ed Argues Delay Is Emboldening Beijing.
Defense analyst Seth G.
Based on WSJ reporting · Capital Wealth analysis by Sean Anees Saifi · June 9, 2026
A mountainous island coastline with dramatic clouds.
The Story
Defense analyst Seth G. Jones argues the U.S. is undermining its own deterrence by slow-walking a $14 billion arms package to Taiwan — on top of a roughly $30 billion backlog of already-approved weapons still waiting to be delivered — even as China rapidly arms. It's a chronic tailwind story for defense, and a reminder of how much the world's most advanced chips depend on one nervous island, home to Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).
What This Means For The Book
We keep Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) on the watch list rather than over-sizing it: the supply-chain chokepoint cuts both ways, and it underpins the re-shoring names in our tech and industrial sleeves. Our Taiwan crisis scenario →
