Iran Press/ Asia: Taiwan will buy as many as 400 land-launched Harpoon missiles intended to repel a potential Chinese military operation, completing a deal that Congress approved in 2020, according to a trade group’s leader and people familiar with the issue.
The anti-ship missiles are part of US$19 billion in ‘backlogged’ US sales to Taiwan that need to be accelerated, US official Michael McCaul has said.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang told a briefing in Taipei yesterday that he would not comment on the details of the sale, but Taiwan is confident it can be completed on schedule.
Taiwan has previously purchased ship-launched versions of the Harpoon, which is made by Boeing. Now, a contract with Boeing issued on Taiwan’s behalf by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command marks a first for the mobile, land-launched version, according to Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council. Three other people familiar with the deal, including an industry official, confirmed the contract is for Taiwan.
Under the "One China" policy, nearly all countries across the globe recognize Beijing's sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, including the US, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the territory but continues to support its anti-China stance and supply it with massive amounts of armaments.
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