The US State Department yesterday approved the sale of AIM-02X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and AGM-9L Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Taiwan. Gun sales must still be approved by Congress.
According to the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) requested the purchase of 100 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II short-range air-to-air missiles and 60 AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, valued at $85,6 million and $355 million, respectively.
Also approved was the sale of a Contractor Logistical (CLS) package for the Surveillance Radar Program (SRP), valued at $665,4 million. The SRP is an early warning radar system already used in Taiwan. It allows the Taiwanese Air Force to detect and track long and short range tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and other targets.
The three possible sales add up to a total of US$ 1.106 billion and take place while Washington, Taipei and Beijing are in a long crisis since Nancy Pelosi's visit, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, in Taiwan, on 02/08. Between 28/08 and 03/09, 222 Chinese planes were detected in Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), a number that has remained high since the days leading up to Pelosi's visit.
Once informed of the negotiations, the Chinese Embassy in the United States promptly objected, requesting that President Joe Biden's istration stop selling weapons to Taiwan. UAn embassy official says the arms shipments risk undermining China's sovereignty and security interests, as well as heightening tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
The island is seen as rebel territory by China, which is constantly threatening an invasion in case of complete independence. At the same time, most countries, including the US, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent territory.
