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WASHINGTON: The US State Department approved the possible sale of three weapons systems to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery that could be worth a total of $ 1.8 billion, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Reuters reported last week that the White House was moving forward with five separate sales of sophisticated military equipment to Taiwan with a total value of about $ 5 billion as the Trump administration increases pressure on China and concerns mount over the Beijing’s intentions toward Taiwan.
Among other weapons systems, formal notifications to Congress on Wednesday from the State Department were for 11 truck-based rocket launchers made by Lockheed Martin Corp called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), for an estimated cost. of 436.1 million dollars.
The notifications also covered 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles and related equipment manufactured by Boeing, worth an estimated US $ 1.008 billion, and six MS-110 Recce external sensor modules manufactured by Collins Aerospace for Aircraft. at an estimated cost of US $ 367.2 million.
More congressional notifications are expected to follow Wednesday, including drones made by General Atomics and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles, made by Boeing, to serve as coastal defense cruise missiles.
Sources have said that the 100 cruise missile stations and the 400 missiles would cost around $ 2 billion.
Reuters was the first to report in September that sales of major weapons systems to Taiwan were making their way through the US export process.
The formal notification gives Congress 30 days to object to any sale, but this is unlikely given the broad bipartisan support for the defense of Taiwan.
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The SLAM-ER missiles will help Taiwan “meet current and future threats by providing all-weather, day and night, precision strike capabilities against moving and stationary targets” on the land or ocean surface, a statement said. of the State Department.
China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, has stepped up pressure on the island over the past year, sending attack and surveillance aircraft into its airspace and ships near its waters.
Last week, Beijing released a video of a military exercise simulating an invasion of Taiwan-like territory with missile strikes and amphibious landings.
TAIWAN SAYS IT’S NOT LOOKING FOR AN ARMS RACE
Taiwan’s defense and foreign ministries welcomed the news, saying the weapons would help improve defensive capabilities.
“This arms sale shows that the United States attaches great importance to the strategic position of the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Straits, and is actively helping our country to strengthen our overall defense capabilities,” the Defense Ministry said. from Taiwan.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Defense Minister Yen De-fa said that Taiwan is not seeking to engage in an arms race with China, but that it needs credible combat capabilities.
Yen thanked the United States and said the sales would help Taiwan improve its defensive capabilities to deal with the “enemy threat and the new situation.”
“This includes credible combat capability and asymmetric warfare capabilities to strengthen our resolve to defend ourselves,” he added.
“This shows the importance the United States attaches to security in the Indo Pacific and the Taiwan Strait. We will continue to consolidate our security partnership with the United States.”
China is likely to condemn the sale of new weapons, as it always does, but Yen said Taiwan is not seeking clashes.
“We will not participate in an arms race with the Chinese communists. We will propose requirements and build fully in accordance with the strategic concept of strong deterrence, defending our defensive position and needs.”
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The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but China’s Foreign Ministry said last week that US arms sales to Taiwan seriously damaged China’s sovereignty and security interests.
He urged Washington to cancel the planned sales and warned that China “will give a legitimate and necessary response as the situation develops.”
The US administration has stepped up pressure on Beijing in the run-up to the November 3 US presidential election, in which President Donald Trump has made a tough approach to China a key foreign policy issue.
Washington has been eager to see Taiwan strengthen its defensive capabilities in the face of increasingly aggressive Chinese moves toward the island.
Last week, US national security adviser Robert O’Brien said that while China was probably not ready to invade Taiwan for now, the island needed to “fortify itself” against a future attack or any attempt to isolate it through non-military means. means, like an embargo.
