The Ministry of National Defense has received a letter of acceptance (LOA) from the US for the sale of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that expires on March 26, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo confirmed receipt of the LOA while speaking with reporters at the legislature.
The US announced the sale of 82 HIMARS to Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year at an estimated cost of US$4.05 billion as part of a historic US$11.1 billion arms package.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
An LOA is a binding document confirming that a foreign government agrees to buy military equipment under a regulated government program, and gives the US government the authority to contract US weapons firms to manufacture and acquire the systems.
The offer expires if the buyer does not sign the LOA by the deadline, and the deal would have to be reviewed again.
In addition to the HIMARS letter, Taiwan has received LOAs for M109A7 self-propelled howitzers (US$4.03 billion), Javelin anti-armor missiles (US$375 million) and TOW missiles (US$353 million).
The deadline for signing those LOAs is Sunday, the ministry said.
The ministry said it is still awaiting the acceptance letter for Altius-700M and Altius-600 drones.
Koo expressed the hope that the legislature would swiftly authorize the ministry to sign the LOAs for all five systems, particularly the HIMARS, saying that the acquisition could be “significantly impacted” if the agreement is not signed in time.
The government and opposition-controlled legislature have been at loggerheads over the financing of weapons procurements the government considers necessary for Taiwan’s defense.
The Executive Yuan has proposed a special budget of NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.27 billion) to cover the acquisition of domestic and foreign-made weapons systems over the next eight years, but opposition parties have only proposed a budget of NT$380 billion to NT$400 billion to fund purchases for weapons in the US$11.1 billion arms package.
Finding agreement on the LOAs with upcoming deadlines could happen before the funding bills are reconciled.
A motion submitted by the opposition Taiwan People’s Party authorizing the ministry to sign the first three LOAs on Friday advanced to a second reading, but cross-caucus negotiations would have to be held for the motion to advance further.
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