The US Department of State on Wednesday approved a US$75 million weapons sale package to Taiwan, while visiting US lawmakers expressed optimism over addressing the backlog in arms deliveries.
The Taiwan Advanced Tactical Data Link System Upgrade Planning and related equipment have been approved, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release.
The agency delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of the possible sale on the same day, it said.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
Taiwan has requested to buy “Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Cross Domain Solutions (CDS); High Assurance devices; Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers; communications equipment; requirements analysis; engineering; technical services; and other related elements of logistics and program support,” it said.
Implementation of the proposed sale would require an estimated 200 US government personnel and 200 US contractor representatives to travel to Taiwan to provide engineering and technical support services, as well as program and technical reviews, it said.
The proposed sale would help Taiwan enhance its communications and network security, and enable the secure flow of tactical information through the infrastructure it provides, it said.
By supporting Taiwan’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a credible defensive capability, the proposed sales “serves US national, economic and security interests,” it added.
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) yesterday thanked the US government for continuing to fulfill its commitments to Taiwan’s security based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances.”
The announcement by US President Joe Biden’s administration of its 13th foreign arms sales to Taiwan demonstrates the importance Washington attaches to Taiwan’s defense needs and the rock-solid partnership between the two nations, she said.
At the forefront of the democratic alliance’s defense, Taiwan will continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself, strengthen its defense autonomy and safeguard democracy and freedom, she said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that the Biden administration’s continuation of its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan would help bolster the nation’s defense and deterrence capabilities.
Taiwan will continue to deepen its close security partnership with the US to jointly defend the rules-based international order, and maintain peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region, it added.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that Taipei had asked Washington to help upgrade the data link systems for Taiwan’s C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) architecture.
The proposed sale would improve joint combat effectiveness and establish military interoperability, it said.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said that the US would conduct a complete assessment of Taiwan’s military through the proposed sale
The armed forces have many domestically made weapons systems, which have to be interoperable with US-made weapons to achieve maximum effect, he said.
The announcement came before a US delegation led by US Representative Mike Gallagher, chair of the US House of Representatives Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party, arrived in Taiwan.
Gallagher told reporters yesterday that ensuring the delivery of foreign military sales to Taiwan is the most important thing the US can do “to deter China and reduce its aggression.”
Calling for continued lethal assistance to Ukraine and applying the lessons learned in the European country to the Indo-Pacific region, he said the US should revitalize its defense industrial base to be able to “surge production of and stockpile critical munitions” in the region.
Finding creative solutions to the backlog of arms deliveries to Taiwan is “absolutely doable going forward,” he said.
The committee is also deliberating the feasibility of weapons coproduction in Taiwan, which would be “a potentially great partner” for producing 155mm artillery, delegation member and US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS