Local security experts yesterday lauded the US’ announcement of a new arms sale package to Taiwan, saying it had been long delayed from last year and can help the Taiwanese army modernize its combat capabilities.
Although the package focuses on precision-guided artillery, the M982A1 Excalibur rounds that the military planned to acquire were not included, as they contain Swedish technology, Taiwan Security Analysis Center director Mei Fu-shing (梅復興) wrote on Facebook.
Instead, they were replaced by M1156 precision guidance kits for turning existing 155mm shells into guided weapons, he wrote.
While the costly self-propelled artillery “may not fully align with Taiwan’s prioritized military needs,” Taipei has not yet proposed new arms purchase to US President Joe Biden’s administration; therefore, if the Biden administration aims to show its support for Taiwan’s security through arms sale, the howitzer is the only readily available option Washington has to show its support for Taiwan’s security, Mei said.
The M109A6 artillery systems are among the most needed weapons of the army, said Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), a member of state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
They are better than the M109A2 and M109A5 systems currently employed by the army, he said.
The new sale shows that the Biden administration is following former US president Donald Trump’s administration on arms sale; that is, it can discuss the sale of single weapons with Taiwan, instead of selling many weapons in a large package as in earlier times, Shu said.
Trump ramped up big-ticket arms sales to Taiwan during his time in office, as he feuded with Beijing on a host of issues from trade to national security.
Trump announced 11 arms sales packages during his tenure, including drones, missile systems, F-16V fighter jets, harpoon coastal defense systems and field information communications systems, which cost more than US$18.3 billion, data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed.
In related news, US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino on Tuesday said during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that the US military’s task in the region is to ensure that the “status quo” can be maintained in the Taiwan Strait and the region.
The Taiwan Strait is international waters, and any country should have freedom of navigation there, he added.
Asked if the US military would aid Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, he said that the US is equipped with the most advanced forces and can tackle any emergency.
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