US confirms sale of $700 mn air defence system to Taiwan – Firstpost

The United States confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced missile system worth about $700 million that has been battle-tested in Ukraine, its second weapons package in a week bringing the total to $1 billion, and reaffirmed support for Taipei.

In the Indo-Pacific region, only Australia and Indonesia now operate the system, three of which the United States said last year it would receive as part of a $2 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASMS) medium-range air defense solutions, as they are called, are made by RTX, and are a new weapon for Taiwan.

The Pentagon said the company was awarded a fixed-price contract to procure the NASMS units, with work estimated to be completed in February 2031.

“Foreign Military Sales (Taiwan) in the amount of $698,948,760 were due in fiscal year 2026,” it said in a statement Monday.

RTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NASM system, used to defend against Russian aggression in Ukraine, provides a sharp increase in air defense capabilities that the United States is exporting to Taiwan as demand for it increases.

‘Rock solid’ US support

“It should be clear today and will be clear in the future that America’s commitments to Taiwan are very solid,” Raymond Green, the de facto US ambassador to Taipei, said at an event at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan on Tuesday.

“We are backing these words with action, focusing on supporting Taiwan’s efforts to achieve peace through strength. Nowhere is this more evident than in our growing defense industrial cooperation.”

Thursday’s US approval of a $330 million sale of fighter jets and other aircraft parts to Taiwan was the first such deal since President Donald Trump took office in January, drawing thanks from Taipei and anger in Beijing.

News of the arms sale comes amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, although Taipei’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

On Sunday, Chinese coast guard ships passed through waters around a group of East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

Japan said it also scrambled fighter jets on Saturday after China flew drones between Taiwan and Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island.

Asked about tensions on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Kuo said China should not resort to force to resolve disputes.

“China should give up its idea of ​​using force to resolve things,” he told reporters.

Taiwan’s military has been beefing up its arsenal to better deal with any attack from China, through efforts such as building its own submarines to protect vital maritime supply lines.

China’s military operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, in what Taipei sees as a “gray zone” strategy to test and exhaust Taiwan’s forces.

Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations, the United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, to Beijing’s continued anger.

(This is an agency story. Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)