The government yesterday welcomed Washington’s announcement that it would sell Taiwan MQ-9B drones, which are expected to boost the nation’s large-scale maritime reconnaissance and asymmetric combat capabilities.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Tuesday said that it had notified the US Congress of the possible sale to Taiwan of four Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$600 million.
Also included were MX-20 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems and spares, SeaVue Maritime Multi-Role Patrol Radars, and SAGE 750 Electronic Surveillance Measures Systems, C-Band Line-of-Sight Ground Data Terminals, personnel training and training equipment, it said.
Photo: Reuters
General Atomic Aeronautical System would be the principle contractor, it added.
Including the new package, the US government has announced three arms sales to Taiwan in two weeks, showing that Washington continues to fulfill its commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances” with concrete action, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said yesterday.
The drones would upgrade the military’s round-the-clock reconnaissance and asymmetric combat capabilities, Chang said.
They would allow the military to conduct large-scale maritime patrols and reconnaissance, and, in wartime, identify the positions of the enemy, Association of Strategic Foresight research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said.
For example, when China conducts drills in the western Pacific, Taiwan could employ the drones to collect information, which would be more efficient than crewed aircraft that require considerable maintenance, he said.
It is significant that the drones are equipped with both reconnaissance and combat capabilities, as indicated by the “weapons-ready” wording in the announcement, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
That shows the improved mutual trust between Taiwan and the US in the face of a rising Chinese threat, as the US usually sells drones with only reconnaissance functions, he said.
The sale would assist Taiwan’s development of indigenous aircraft, especially as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is also developing drones, he added.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) yesterday said that Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan contravene the “one China” principle, as well as the three joint communiques between China and the US.
He called on the US to scrap the arms sales to avoid further damaging China-US relations and cross-strait stability, adding that China would implement the requisite responses after following developments.
Additional reporting by CNA
NEW OPPORTUNITIES: The negotiations could attract funding from the US and other countries while expanding markets and the digital economy, the government said Taiwan and the US have announced plans for trade talks in the early autumn in another step to boost ties. The talks, dubbed the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, were unveiled on June 1 after US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in May, a deal designed to counter China’s influence in the region, but did not feature Taipei despite more than 50 US senators urging Biden to include the nation. The negotiations are to cover areas including agriculture, digital trade and regulatory practices, along with attempts to remove trade barriers, the Office of the US Trade Representative said in
Comments by a member of a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation to China could cause a rift in society, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. KMT Mainland Affairs Department head Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉), who was part of a recent delegation to China led by KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言), on Wednesday attended a forum on cross-strait relations via videoconference. Lin said in his opening remarks that the KMT upheld the “1992 consensus” — a term former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — opposed Taiwanese independence and sought improved
URGING PEACE: National Security Secretariat head Takeo Akiba conveyed Tokyo’s position on Taiwan to China’s Yang Jiechi, a Japanese official said Japanese National Security Secretariat Director-General Takeo Akiba had met China’s top diplomat for seven hours of talks that covered topics including Taiwan and Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Japanese government official said yesterday. Accepting an invitation from China, Akiba traveled to Tianjin, southeast of Beijing, to meet Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) on Wednesday afternoon, the official said. Xinhua news agency also reported that the two had met, weeks before the countries commemorated the 50th anniversary of their normalized ties on Sept. 29. Relations between Asia’s two largest economies are not always friendly, and have long been beset by issues ranging from
Chinese troops are planning to travel to Russia to take part in joint military drills, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday. Beijing and Moscow have close defense links, and China has said that it wants to push bilateral relations “to a higher level,” even as Moscow faces international sanctions and widespread condemnation over its war in Ukraine. The ministry said China’s participation in the annual “Vostok” exercises — which Moscow has said would take place from Saturday to Sept. 5 — is part of a bilateral cooperation agreement with Russia. “The aim is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with
RSS