The government yesterday thanked the US for approving the possible sale of a US$620 million missile repair and recertification package to Taiwan.
The US Department of State has approved the sale of a package to recertify Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington for an estimated US$620 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release on Thursday.
The agency has delivered the required certification to the US Congress, notifying it of the possible sale, it added.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The TECRO had requested to buy an upgrade package that would support an operational life of 30 years for its PAC-3 missiles, including air transportation services for missile processing, ground support equipment, and US government and contractor technical and logistical support, it said.
The proposed sale is in line with US law and policy, and serves its “national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” it said.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” the agency said.
Lockheed Martin would be the primary contractor, it added.
The proposed sale, which is expected to take effect in one month, would be the seventh arms sale to Taiwan by US President Donald Trump’s administration, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement yesterday.
The US, in line with its Taiwan Relations Act and “six assurances,” continues to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, and the missile refurbishment package would boost Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, it said, thanking the US for the decision.
As President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) mentioned in her second inaugural speech, Taiwan has over the past four years worked to reform its national defense sector, as well as participate on the global stage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
These efforts — which are to continue over the next four years — seek to maintain cross-strait peace and stability, and to allow Taiwan to become more involved in fostering peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, it said, adding that bilateral security partnerships would only deepen.
“Taiwan will continue to increase investment, and research and development in the defense sector in a bid to add to long-term peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
The nation’s oldest PAC-3 ground systems and missiles, which were purchased from the US nearly 10 years ago, need maintenance, Taiwan Security Analysis Center director Mei Fu-hsing (梅復興) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
The refurbishment would cover 444 PAC-3 systems and missiles bought over the years, Mei said.
Just like the previous arms package sale announced on May 20, the new proposal shows a normalization of arms sales between the US and Taiwan, he added.
Taiwan, like any other country, can tender arms purchase proposals to the US at any time, and the US reviews them upon request, as per legal procedure, instead of holding the proposals and then “clearing the warehouse” all at once, he said.
That was one of the Taiwan-friendly policies instituted by Randall Schriver during his tenure as US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, Mei added.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘HONORED’: The DPP’s Lin Fei-fan said friends working in the foreign media, the diplomatic corps and at think tanks congratulated him for making the sanctions list The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday slammed China for sanctioning Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and six other Taiwanese officials for being “diehard separatists,” saying its attempt to intimidate Taiwanese would backfire. China has no authority to dictate the actions of Taiwanese, because Taiwan is a democratic nation that upholds the rule of law, and would never yield to intimidation and threats from an authoritarian regime, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency earlier yesterday reported that the Taiwan Work Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee has imposed
THAI ASSISTANCE: The representative office in Thailand worked with local authorities to help trafficking victims return home, while one in the group has been charged Eight Taiwanese who were lured to Cambodia with lucrative job offers only to be forced to work illegally were brought home on Sunday night in a joint effort between Taiwanese and Thai authorities, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said. Nine people — six men and three women aged 23 to 42 — boarded China Airlines Flight CI-836 from Bangkok, with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 9:55pm and were taken to the Aviation Police Bureau for questioning before entering home isolation in accordance with Taiwan’s COVID-19 regulations. The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday
ORDNANCE: Under a five-year plan, the Chungshan Institute would make about 200 Hsiung Feng II and III/IIIE, and Hsiung Sheng missiles, an official said The Ministry of National Defense plans to counter the Chinese navy by producing more than 1,000 anti-ship missiles over the next five years, a defense official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The comments came after China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy began a series of military drills in a simulated naval blockade of Taiwan proper following a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Although China has in the past few years rapidly produced many warships and added them to its navy, these large vessels are more suited for warfare on the open sea than in the narrow
The organizers of WorldPride 2025 have canceled the Kaohsiung event because its licensing group, InterPride, demanded that it remove “Taiwan” from the event’s name, they said in a statement yesterday. Kaohsiung was to host WorldPride Taiwan 2025 after being granted the right by the global LGBTQ advocacy group. However, the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan Preparation Committee said that InterPride recently gave “abrupt notice” asking it to change the name of the event and use “Kaohsiung” instead of “Taiwan,” even though it applied for the event using “Taiwan” in its name. The name was initially chosen for its significance to the Taiwanese LGBTQ community, as