The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had notified the US Congress of the possible sale of 60 Harpoon Block II anti-ship cruise missiles to Taiwan.
The proposed deal was valued at an estimated US$125 million, the Defense Security and Cooperation Agency said.
"The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic security in the region," the agency said in a press statement.
It said the proposed sale would improve Taiwan's security and help maintain political stability, military balance and economic security in the region.
The sale would include 60 ABM-84L missiles, 30 lugs for air-launched missiles and 50 kits to upgrade the AGM-84G version of the missile to the AGM-84L.
The Harpoon can be launched from fighter aircraft, surface ships or submarines to attack targets on land as well as at sea.
Boeing, which manufactures the missiles, says its GPS-aided navigational system enables the missiles to distinguish ships from nearby islands or land masses, or to strike them in congested sea lanes.
"The 500-pound blast warhead delivers lethal firepower against a wide variety of land-based targets, including coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft, port industrial facilities, ships in port," a Boeing fact sheet said.
The Pentagon statement noted that Taiwan has bought both air and surface-launched Harpoon missiles before.
It said the sale was in keeping with the Taiwan Relations Act, which commits the US to providing Taiwan with "arms of a defensive character."
A Taiwanese official stationed in Washington said on Wednesday that continued sales of US Harpoon missiles will help beef up Taiwan's deterrence force.
Taiwan also purchased F-16 jet fighters from the US in the 1990s, the official said.
Netflix on Wednesday said it is to charge NT$100 more per month for each user that is not part of the same household. Under the plan, the streaming service is to limit viewership to people who live in the same household. If a member wishes to add people outside of their address, they must pay NT$100 more per person every month. No additional viewers can be added to the NT$270 per month “basic” account. “Standard” accounts (NT$330) can add one user, while “premium” (NT$390) accounts can add two users. The company has said that people in the same household would still be able
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
PRESSURE POINT: Beijing might seek to lean on Musk to prevent his SpaceX from providing Taiwan access to its Starlink satellite system, ‘The Economist’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) called out Elon Musk on Twitter, saying the value of democracy transcends that of money after the Tesla CEO said that China was likely to “integrate” Taiwan. Asked in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday last week if “China would make a move to take control of Taiwan,” Musk said that “the official policy of China is that Taiwan should be integrated... One does not need to read between the lines.” “There is a certain inevitability to the situation,” he added. “That is their policy, and I think you should take their word seriously,” Musk said. Regarding
RSS