The US on Tuesday announced that it has approved the sale of up to US$95 million of training and equipment to support Taiwan’s Patriot missile defense system, something Taipei said would help protect the nation from any invasion by China.
“The proposed sale will help to sustain [Taiwan’s] missile density and ensure readiness for air operations,” the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
It added that Taiwan would use the proposed training and equipment as a “deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense.”
Photo courtesy of Ministry of National Defense via CNA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the arms deal — the third approved by US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“In the face of China’s continuing military expansion and provocation, Taiwan must fully demonstrate its strong determination to defend itself,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Our government will continue to strengthen our self-defense and asymmetric combat capabilities,” it added.
The Ministry of National Defense said the deal is expected to take effect in one month.
The latest arms purchase comes as Taiwan closely watches the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, as it also lives under the constant threat of an invasion by a giant neighbor.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned the deal, saying it “severely harms US-China relations, and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.”
“China will take resolute and forceful measures to resolutely defend its own sovereignty and security interests,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said.
China has sanctioned US defense giants — including Boeing Defense, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon — for selling arms to Taiwan.
Beijing has ramped up its saber-rattling in recent years, sending 969 Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone last year, according to a database compiled by Agence France-Presse — more than double the roughly 380 in 2020.
Taiwan has recorded about 280 warplanes entering the zone this year.
Western powers, as well as regional neighbors Japan and South Korea, have looked on with growing alarm at Beijing’s designs on Taiwan under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
On Tuesday, Australia announced that it was accelerating plans to buy long-range missiles, citing new threats posed by Russia and China, including a potential invasion of Taiwan.
“There was a working assumption that an act of aggression by China toward Taiwan might take place in the 2040s. I think that timeline now has been dramatically compressed,” Australian Minister for Defence Peter Dutton told Seven Network television.
Washington has remained Taipei’s most important ally and leading arms supplier, despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.
The Patriot is a highly mobile surface-to-air missile system that would be a crucial defense against Chinese warplanes.
Former US president Donald Trump ramped up big-ticket arms sales to Taiwan during his time in office as he feuded with Beijing on a host of issues from trade to national security.
Sales included drones, missile systems and new-generation fighter jets.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS