Washington has approved the sale of more than US$900 million in upgraded ground support materiel for Taiwan's three Patriot-II anti-missile batteries, a move that is expected to improve Taiwan's capability to fend off a ballistic missile attack by China.
The decision to go ahead with the arms sale was submitted for approval to the US Congress on Friday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) -- the unit responsible for foreign arms sales at the Department of Defense -- made the news public on Tuesday morning after Congress gave the okay for the sale, DSCA spokesman Charles Taylor said.
The sale was the fifth major weapons sale to Taiwan this year and brought the total approved arms sales during the year to US$3.717 billion. The biggest sale was that of 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft in September for US$1.96 billion.
The latest sale -- which could come at a price tag of US$939 million if Taipei exercises all the options -- would provide Taiwan with the most up-to-date configuration of ground support equipment for the anti-missile system, a DSCA press release said.
The sale would include upgraded short and long-range radio equipment, enhanced radar, target classification and identification equipment, upgraded remote-launch communication systems and an electric power plant.
"The proposed sale serves US national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and enhance its defense capabilities," DSCA said. "The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region."
The sale is "consistent with United States law and policy" under the Taiwan Relations Act, DSCA said.
The giant defense contractor, Raytheon Corp, will be the main contractor.
China immediately condemned the sale, urging Washington to cancel it and to end arms sales and all military links with Taiwan.
Ostensibly aware of the sale before the official announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (
Liu said the sale "endangered Chinese national security and peaceful reunification."
Taiwan purchased 200 original Patriot-II anti-missile missiles -- also known as PAC-2 -- from Raytheon in 1993, and the systems entered service in 1998. The missiles were first test fired in 2001, after China began the rapid escalation of its missile capabilities targeting Taiwan.
That year, Washington approved the sale of more advanced PAC-3 systems, which Taiwan had requested years earlier.
However, approval of those purchases was held up in the Legislative Yuan and the government this year acceded to opposition demands that the purchase be shelved.
In June, the legislature approved a NT$25.7 billion (US$796 million) 2007 defense budget that included an upgrade plan for the PAC-2s.
The announcement of the sale came one week after US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' first official visit to China, during which Taiwan was a main topic of discussion, along with US concerns over China's military expansion.
It was not immediately known whether the announcement was delayed until Gates had returned from the region. After China, Gates visited South Korea and Japan.
It also came as the White House maintains a freeze on Taipei's request for 66 advanced F-16 fighter aircraft, reportedly in retaliation for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Washington is expected to delay a decision on the sale until after the presidential election in March. Even if it gave an immediate approval after that date, it would take at least another three years for the first aircraft to be delivered to Taiwan and another two or three years for the sale to be completed, an industry source said.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS