The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$2.22 billion in weapons to Taiwan that includes M1A2T Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles.
The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs announced the sales and the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency formally informed the US Congress of the approval on Monday.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) thanked the US government in a Facebook post, saying the weaponry would strengthen Taiwan’s national defense capacity and deter potential military threats, as well as ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region.
Photo: Lin Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
The US government has used the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to take concrete actions that realize its commitment to Taiwan’s security, Tsai wrote.
Earlier in the day, the Presidential Office issued a statement expressing “sincere gratitude” for the sale, with Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) saying that the government would “speed up investment on defense and continue to deepen security ties with the United States and countries with similar ideas.”
In two statements issued on Monday, the agency said that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office has requested to buy 250 Stinger missiles, four Stinger fly-to-buy missiles, 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks and related equipment.
The principal missile contractor would be Raytheon Missile Systems Co, and the M1A2T prime contractor would be General Dynamics Land Systems, the statements said.
The Stinger missiles and related equipment would contribute to the Taiwanese military’s goal of updating its defensive capability, while further enhancing greater interoperability with the US and other partners, the agency said.
The proposed sale of the tanks “will contribute to the modernization of the recipient’s main battle tank fleet, enhancing its ability to meet current and future regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense,” the agency said.
The sale of the tanks serves the US’ national, economic and security interests by helping “improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region,” it added.
However, the deal does not include the 66 F-16V jets that the Ministry of National Defense requested in February.
The arms package had been stalled for some time amid concerns that the US government was holding back on weapon sales to Taiwan for fear of their possible effects on its trade talks with China.
The truce in the trade dispute reached between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, and an agreement to keep talking might have allayed some of those worries.
The sales, announced as two separate packages by the agency, are the most substantive since Trump took office.
The deal shows that the US is normalizing its arms sales to Taiwan based on the TRA and the “six assurances,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The arms sale is highly significant and beneficial for Taiwan to boost its self-defense capability, as the nation is on the front line of Beijing’s aggressive expansionism, the ministry said.
The deal would not affect cross-strait relations; instead, cross-strait peace and stability can be maintained only when Taiwan enhances its defense to deter potentially military aggression, it added.
China’s reaction to the US announcement was predictable.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that the US “immediately cancel” the sale, and “stop military relations with Taipei to avoid damaging Sino-US relations and harming peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
China has lodged formal complaints through diplomatic channels, he added.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan, Reuters and AFP
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS