US approves $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan including missiles
The United States has approved more than $2 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan, including National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) missiles.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Friday that the missile systems worth $1.16 billion and radar systems worth $828 million were approved.
RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon, will be the principal contractor for the missile system, the Pentagon added.
The US aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, just across the river from the nearby White House in Washington, DC -- alongside Lockheed Martin Corporation, another major arms manufacturing member in the US military-industrial complex -- has been sanctioned by China over arms sales to Taipei.
“This proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the Pentagon said in the statement.
“The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”
The missile system sale is for three NASAMS medium-range air defense solutions that include the advanced AMRAAM Extended Range surface-to-air missiles, it added.
China has regularly protested the US sales of weaponry to Taipei, slamming Washington for backing secessionist advocates in Taiwan. Beijing sees ties with Taipei as meddling in Chinese domestic affairs.
The Chinese government expresses clear opposition to any official diplomatic relations between the United States and Chinese Taipei, urging Washington to stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces in the self-ruled island. China says Taiwan is an inalienable part of it.
Taiwan's purchase of weapons from the United States, the island’s largest arms supplier, has infuriated Beijing.
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