US gives green light to US$95 million missile support deal for Taiwan

The US State Department has approved a US$95 million missile support deal with Taiwan, which Taipei hailed as a proof of Washington’s rock-solid support in strengthening its defences against mainland China. Observers said the latest approval was designed to assure the island that the US would not back down on its support for Taiwan in the event of a cross-strait war although Washington did not send forces to help Ukraine to fight against Russia’s invasion. In a statement on Tuesday, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the State Department had approved the sale of equipment, training and other items to support its Patriot Air Defence System with Raytheon Technologies as the prime contractor. It would be the third arms deal with Taiwan since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Fifty years later, despite US pivot, Taiwan has done well economically “This proposed sale serves US national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the statement said. “The proposed sale will help to sustain the recipient’s missile density and ensure readiness for air operations. The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defence.” The DSCA said the deal is consistent with US law and policy and will not alter the military balance in the region. Although there are no official relations between the US and Taiwan, according to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is bound by law to provide the island with weapons to defend itself in the face of military threats from Beijing, which regards the island as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Beijing has repeatedly warned Washington against having official contacts and arming Taiwan. Biden’s administration has previously approved a US$750 million deal to supply Taiwan with 40 Paladin M109A6 self-propelled howitzers in August last year. Then in Februaryit approved a US$100 million package that included equipment and services to support participation in the Patriot International Engineering Services Programme and Field Surveillance Programme for five years. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian condemned the arms sales, saying it will seriously damage China-US relations and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “China will take resolute and forceful measures to resolutely defend its own sovereignty and security interests,” he told a regular press conference on Wednesday. Window for possible PLA attack on Taiwan ‘unpredictable’, US admiral says Taiwan, on the other hand, was upbeat over the latest proposed sales, seeing it as a proof that the US would not walk away from Taiwan for the sake of its own national interests as some politicians have speculated. The island’s presidential office expressed thanks for the deal, with spokesman Xavier Chang saying: “This was the third arms sale announced since President Joe Biden took office and the second deal in this year. This represents rock-solid US support for us and its taking note of our defence needs. “Taiwan will continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself and continue to deepen cooperative partnerships with the United States and other like-minded countries.” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in the face of growing military threats and provocation from Beijing, Taiwan needed to demonstrate its determination to defend itself, and the sale could help the island deter the mainland’s threats. The island’s defence ministry said the US State Department has already notified Congress of the proposed sale and it expected the deal to come into effect in 30 days. Wang Kung-yi, director of Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei-based think tank, said the new proposed sale was a way of assuring Taiwan of continued US support. “At the start of the Ukraine war, the Ukrainian government had called for foreign support to resist Russian invasion, but the Biden government decided against sending forces to help Ukraine on the grounds that it could lead to a third world war,” Wang said. Taiwan appoints working group to study Ukraine war tactics “The decision has led to concerns that the US might back off its support for the island in the event of a cross-strait war for fear of causing a nuclear war.” In a survey released by Foreign Policy magazine on March 31, only 18 per cent of the 866 academics at US universities surveyed supported direct US military intervention in the event of a cross-strait conflict. However, 72 per cent favoured deploying US military forces to the region in response to a Chinese attack and 83 per cent supported sending additional arms and military supplies to Taiwan.