Islam Times - US State Department Approves Possible $95 Million Military Sale to Taiwan

Islam Times - The US State Department approved a potential multimillion-dollar defense sale to Taiwan, a Pentagon’s security cooperation agency said on Tuesday.

The package, estimated at $95 million, consists of costs associated with maintaining and operating the Patriot Air Defense System, in addition to “Patriot Ground Support Equipment, spare parts, and consumables as required,” the agency said in a press release.

Patriot manufacturer Raytheon Technologies will be the prime contractor for this planned transaction.

“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 agency continued.

“The recipient [Taiwan] will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense,” it added.

The State Department also sent the required notification to inform the US Congress of the proposal.

The move follows a similar approval in February of training and support for Taiwan’s missile defense systems, and is the third military sale approved under US President Joe Biden.

News of the planned sale arrived following months of incursions by Beijing into Taiwan’s air defense zone - maneuvers which Taipei refers to as gray zone warfare.

Taiwan claims that these missions by Chinese aircraft aim to probe the island’s defenses and exhaust its air force.

Beijing maintains that its aerial operations are only military exercises.