Taipei - The United States is considering selling some 443 missiles, worth 421 million US dollars, to Taiwan to boost the island's defences against China, Taiwan press reports said Thursday.
At Taiwan's request, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a branch of the US Department of Defense, has notified the US Congress of the possible sale of AMRAAM and Maverick missiles as well as associated quipment and services to Taiwan, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Taiwan's representative office in the US has requested a possible sale of 218 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), 235 AGM-65G2 Maverick Missiles, along with associated
equipment, support and technical assistance, CNA quoed a DSCA statement as saying.
The estimated total cost is 421 million US dollars. DSCA said the proposed sale serves US national economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and enhance its defensive ability to counter air and ground threats.
"The proposed sale will help improve the security of recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.
The US is committed to providing military assistance under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act. This sale is consistent with US law, the DSCA said in a statement.
Taiwan bought 150 F16 jets from the US in the 1990s. The sale of AMRAAM and Maverick missiles is to augment and complement Taiwan's F16 fleet, which uses these two kinds of missiles.
The prime contractor in this deal will be Raytheon Missile Systems Corporation, the DSCA said.
The DSCA said this notice of a potential sale to the Congress is required by US law, but it does not mean that the sale has been concluded.
The US switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, but signed the Taiwan Relations Act, pledging to continue to supply defensive arms to Taiwan.
In 2001, US President George W Bush approved the sale of 12 P3-C anti-submarine aircraft, eight conventional submarines and six PAC-III anti-missile batteries, worth 14.5 billion US dollars. The
Taiwan parliament is still debating if it should pass the arms purchase budget, citing the high cost and late delivery.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is also seeking to buy 66 F16C/D warplanes to fill the gap in air defence from now until Taiwan has introduced its third-generation warplanes.
