US approves potential sale of Volcano anti-tank systems to Taiwan for US$180 million

Name: Taiwan extends mandatory military service as tensions with mainland China increase
Uploaded: 2022-12-29T04:39:06.000Z
Duration: 2 min 36 s
Description: Taiwan extends mandatory military service as tensions with mainland China increase

Pentagon says State Department agrees to possible deal to send island Volcano anti-tank mine-laying systems

Sale will help boost the island’s asymmetric warfare capacity to make its forces more agile, according to Taiwanese defence ministry

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The US State Department has approved the possible sale of Volcano anti-tank mine-laying systems to Taiwan. Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Corporation are the prime contractors for the potential sale. Photo: Twitter

Reuters

Published: 12:39pm, 29 Dec 2022Updated: 3:18pm, 29 Dec 2022

The US State Department has approved the possible sale of Volcano anti-tank mine-laying systems to Taiwan for an estimated US$180 million, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Corporation are the prime contractors for the potential sale.

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Taiwan extends mandatory military service as tensions with mainland China increase

United States law requires the executive branch to notify Congress of potential arms sales over a certain amount. But these notifications are not usually made unless lawmakers have given the State Department and Pentagon informal approval to move ahead.

The potential deal comes as Beijing ramps up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan to assert its sovereignty claims, including almost daily air force missions near the island over the past three years.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement the sale would take effect in about a month and that the system would help boost the island’s “asymmetric warfare” capacity to make its forces more agile.

The ministry said the “Chinese Communist Party’s frequent military activities near Taiwan” had posed severe military threats to the island, adding that continuous US military sales were the “cornerstone of maintaining regional stability and peace”.