US agrees to sell weapons to Taiwan
$1.8bn deal sure to further anger Beijing
The US State Department has approved the potential sale of three weapons systems to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery that could have a total value of $1.8 billion (56.12 billion baht).
The White House has been moving forward with five separate sales of sophisticated military equipment to Taiwan with a total value of around $5 billion as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on China amid concerns rise about Beijing’s intentions towards Taiwan.
Among other weapons systems, yesterday’s formal notifications to Congress by the State Department were for 11 truck-based rocket launchers made by Lockheed Martin Corp called a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), for an estimated cost of $436.1 million.
The notifications also covered 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) Missiles and related equipment made by Boeing, for an estimated $1.008 billion, and six MS-110 Recce external sensor pods made by Collins Aerospace for jets, for about $367.2 million.
Further congressional notifications are expected to follow, including drones made by General Atomics and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles, made by Boeing, to serve as coastal defence cruise missiles. Sources have said the 100 cruise missile stations and 400 missiles would have a cost of about $2 billion. It has been known since last month that sales of major weapons systems to Taiwan have been making their way through the US export process.
The latest formal notification gives Congress 30 days to object to any sales but this is unlikely given broad bipartisan support for the defence of Taiwan.
The defence and foreign ministries in Taiwan welcomed the news, saying the weapons would help improve the country’s defensive capabilities.
Taiwan Defence Minister Yen De-fa thanked the United States and said the weapons were to help Taiwan improve their defensive capabilities to deal with the “enemy threat and new situation”.
“This arms sale shows that the United States attaches great importance to the strategic position of the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “It also shows it is actively assisting our country in strengthening our overall defence capabilities.”
Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that it has vowed to bring under control, by force if necessary.
Washington considers it an important democratic outpost and is required by law to provide it with the means to defend itself.
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, China’s foreign ministry said last week that US arms sales to Taiwan severely damaged China’s sovereignty and security interests.
It urged Washington to cancel the planned sales and warned that China would “make a legitimate and necessary response according to how the situation develops”.
The US administration has stepped up pressure on Beijing in the run-up to the Nov 3 presidential election.
Washington has been eager to see Taiwan bolster its defensive capabilities in the face of increasingly aggressive Chinese moves towards the island.
Last week, the US national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, conceded that China was probably not ready to invade Taiwan for now.
Nevertheless, the island needed to “fortify itself” against a future attack or any bid to isolate it through nonmilitary means, such as an embargo, he said.