The US Department of State has approved the potential sale of ammunition and logistics support to Taiwan in two separate deals with a combined value of up to US$440 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Taiwan has asked to purchase 30mm ammunition, including high-explosive incendiary tracer rounds, multipurpose rounds and training rounds, for about US$332.2 million, the Pentagon said.
The principal contractors would be Alliant Techsystems Operations and General Dynamics, it said.
Photo: REUTERS
Taiwan has asked to buy a Blanket Order Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement at an estimated cost of US$108 million, the Pentagon said.
The logistics arrangement would support the purchase of spare and repair parts for wheeled vehicles, weapons and other equipment, it said.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Thursday notified the US Congress of the possible sales.
In Taipei, the Presidential Office thanked the US for honoring its commitments to Taiwan’s security by providing the nation with defensive weapons in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said yesterday.
The arms sales “fully demonstrated that the US government attaches great importance to Taiwan’s national defense needs,” she said.
Taiwan would continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself and strengthen its defense capabilities to safeguard the security and interests of the nation, she said.
Taiwan would continue to cooperate with like-minded countries to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, she added.
The Ministry of National Defense said that the sales would boost the nation’s resilience against China’s “expanding threats of military and gray zone tactics,” which it said has posed “severe threats” to Taiwan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement to thank the US for the arms sales.
“Taiwan has an unwavering determination to defend itself in the face of China’s continued military expansion and provocative actions,” the ministry said.
Taiwan would continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities while deepening its close security partnership with the US to jointly safeguard the rules-based international order, and ensure regional peace, stability and prosperity, it said.
Meanwhile, the defense ministry said that 11 Chinese military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning.
At about 8am, 24 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft were spotted near Taiwan, and 11 of them crossed the unofficial border between Taiwan and China, the ministry said in a statement.
The 24 PLA aircraft included J-11, J-10 and J-16 jets, as well as Sukhoi Su-30s and H-6 bombers, it said.
The ministry said it scrambled planes to monitor the Chinese aircraft, issued radio warnings, mobilized combat air and naval patrols, and deployed defensive missile systems.
Five Chinese naval vessels were also detected near Taiwan yesterday, it said, without giving any details of the location or movement of the ships.
Additional reporting by Liu Tzu-hsuan
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA