Taiwan is to buy as many as 400 land-launched Harpoon missiles intended to repel a potential Chinese invasion, completing a deal that the US Congress approved in 2020, a trade group’s leader and people familiar with the matter said.
Taiwan has previously purchased ship-launched versions of the Harpoon, which is made by Boeing Co.
Now, a contract with Boeing issued on Taiwan’s behalf by the US Naval Air Systems Command marks a first for the mobile, land-launched version, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Three other people familiar with the deal, including an industry official, confirmed the contract is for Taiwan.
The Pentagon announced the US$1.7 billion contract with Boeing on April 7, but made no mention of Taiwan as the purchaser. The deal comes as US-China tensions are high, particularly over Taiwan. China held military drills around Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California earlier this month.
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to say whether Taiwan would be the recipient of the Harpoon missiles, but said: “We will continue to work with industry to provide Taiwan defense equipment in a timely manner.”
“The United States’ provision to Taiwan of defense articles, which includes sustainment to existing capabilities via Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales, is essential for Taiwan’s security,” Meiners said.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) told a briefing in Taipei yesterday that he would not comment on the details of the sale, but Taiwan is confident it can be completed on schedule.
Criticizing the deal, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said that it would “undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests.”
The US should “stop seeking to change the ‘status quo’” in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
The Harpoon contract has been cited by US lawmakers, including US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as part of as much as US$19 billion in “backlogged” US sales to Taiwan that they say need to be accelerated.
In addition to the Harpoon, the list includes the F-16 Block 70 fighter, the MK-48 torpedo, the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer and the Stinger missile.
The US$1.7 billion weapons contract was preceded in March last year by a US$498 million contract to Boeing specifically for Taiwan that ordered Harpoon “Coastal Defense System” launch equipment such as mobile transporters, radar and training equipment.
In other news, Sun, in response to China holding military exercises in the Yellow Sea yesterday, said the drill was short, taking place from 9am to noon, and that the area it covered was small.
The nation’s armed forces had closely monitored the surrounding waters and airspace, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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