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Taiwan ‘in the process’ of seeking long-range cruise missiles from US
- Defence official says the self-ruled island is looking to acquire Lockheed Martin’s AGM-158
- Beijing has ramped up pressure as it tries to force Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty
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Taiwan is seeking to acquire long-range, air-launched cruise missiles from the United States, a defence official said on Monday, as the island bolsters its forces in the face of increasing pressure from Beijing.
While Taiwan is developing its own long-range missiles, to give it an ability to strike back deep into mainland China in the event of war, it has also looked to the US to help provide it more advanced weaponry.
Asked in the island’s Legislative Yuan which weapons systems Taiwan wants to buy – but the US has not yet said it can – Lee Shih-chiang, head of the defence ministry’s strategic planning department, named Lockheed Martin Corp’s AGM-158.
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“We are still in the process of seeking it” from the United States, Lee said. “Communication channels are very smooth and normal.”
He did not elaborate.
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The AGM-158 JASSM – standing for joint air-to-surface stand-off missile – can have a range of almost 1,000km (621 miles) depending on the model, and be fixed to aircraft including F-16s, which Taiwan operates.
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