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US to sell Taiwan two counter-attack weapons systems

The US Department of Defense announced on Wednesday two proposed weapons sales to Taiwan worth an estimated US$356 million.

Taiwan would purchase 39 sets of Pathfinder/Sharpshooter pods and 48 AN/ALQ-184 electronic countermeasure pods to mount on its F-16 aircraft.

The US defense department said in two separate press releases that the US government will sell 39 sets of Pathfinder/Sharpshooter pods with related equipment and contractor engineering and logistics personnel services worth US$234 million. The Pathfinder/Sharpshooter is a navigation and targeting system for tactical bombing aircraft.

The defense department also announced the US would sell Taiwan 48 AN/ALQ-184 electronic countermeasure pods to be mounted on F-16s, support equipment, spare and repair parts and other equipment worth US$122 million.

The AN/ALQ-184 electronic countermeasures pods provide systems to counter enemy radar and missiles.

The US government said that these proposed sales would not affect the basic military balance in the region.

The Clinton administration decided to postpone Taiwan's request to purchase AEGIS destroyers in April.

Larry Niksh, an Asian affairs specialist at the Congressional Research Service, criticized the US government's debate over Taiwan's defense as "ignoring critical military readiness issues," in an article published in the Washington Times.

Niksh argued that "none of the weapons systems being offered Taiwan by the Clinton Administration would be capable of conducting counter-strikes against the launch-sites of Chinese military operations." He noted that "worse, US air and naval forces available for a Taiwan contingency -- one carrier group with 65 fighters and another 100 fighters in Japan and no heavy bombers in the theater -- are woefully inadequate."
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