Taiwan thanks US for latest arms sales

2024/06/21

The U.S. State Department’s approval of two arms sales totaling US$360.2 million is sincerely welcomed by the government and people of Taiwan, the Presidential Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 19.
 
Initiated at the behest of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., the deals include a Switchblade 300 antipersonnel loitering missile system and Altius 600M-V antiarmor unmanned aerial vehicles along with related equipment, support and training. The sales will help meet Taiwan’s defense and combat readiness requirements, the PO said.
 
According to the PO, this is the 15th round of arms sales announced by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration since 2021, demonstrating the importance the U.S. government places on cross-strait peace and stability. The decision underscores Washington’s commitment to strengthening partnership with Taiwan and upholding the regional status quo in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances, it added.
 
The MOFA said the sales package is the second this month and reflects the U.S. government’s normalization of arms sales to Taiwan in recent years.
 
The U.S. and other like-minded partners have repeatedly called on China to cease both its gray zone tactics aimed at intimidating Taiwan and neighboring countries and its provocative military coercion against democracies in the region, the MOFA said. In the face of such threats, Taiwan remains resolutely determined to defend its free and democratic way of life by enhancing its self-defense and asymmetric combat capabilities, the ministry added.
 
The government will continue to deepen its security partnership with the U.S. to jointly safeguard the rules-based international order and advance peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the Indo-Pacific, the MOFA said.


Source:  Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)