Anti-tank mine-laying system sale approved to Taiwan by US for $180mln

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The sale of Volcano anti-tank mine-laying systems to Taiwan has been finalized and approved by the US State Department for the amount of $180 million. According to the Pentagon on Wednesday, the primary contractors for the sale are Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Corporation.

In accordance with US law, the executive branch is obliged to give notice to Congress regarding potential arms sales that exceed a specific amount, but notifications are usually given when lawmakers have given the State Department and Pentagon the green light to move ahead with the sale. 

In a statement, Taiwan's Defense Ministry asserted that the sale would take effect in approximately a month's time and that the system being sold would exacerbate the island's "asymmetric warfare" capacity, adding, "The Chinese Communist Party's frequent military activities near Taiwan have posted severe military threats to us."

Consecutive US military sales, it added, are the "cornerstone of maintaining regional stability and peace."

Just this month, a State Department notice obtained by Bloomberg News said the US has offered Taiwan to buy up to 100 of its most up-to-date Patriot air-defense missiles. The batch will also include radar and related equipment, the report states. The total amount of the transaction is estimated at $882 million.

According to the notice, the proposal was prepared on the basis of an agreement concluded between the US and the Taiwan administration back in 2010, which means that the current proposal is an extension of the previous deal. 

Ongoing contracts

In June, Taiwan applauded the United States' approval of the fourth arms sale in the amount of $120 million of naval weaponry, which the two partners said would improve the island's "combat preparedness" and ability to collaborate with American forces.

Then in September, the Biden administration announced the sale of $1.1bln worth of arms to Taiwan within the framework of three contracts. 

The largest contract is owed to a $655 million logistics package for the Taiwanese surveillance radar program. Harpoon air-to-sea missiles worth $355 million from the second contract while the third consists of Sidewinder air-to-air missiles worth $85 million, revealed the US Department of State, asserting that the equipment was necessary for Taiwan to “maintain a sufficient self-defense capability."

In response, China asserted that the US has breached its commitment not to support the independence of Taiwan, while its military contacts with the island's ruling Democratic Progressive Party have become even closer recently.

"The sale of arms by the US to China's Taiwan violates the One China principle and provisions of the three China-US communiques... This is a gross interference in China's domestic politics, which harms China's sovereignty and security interests, and exacerbates the situation in the Taiwan Strait. China is strongly opposed to it," Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Tan Kefei confirmed.