US sells $700-million air defence system to Taiwan

The United States has confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced air defence missile system worth almost $700 million that has been battle-tested in Ukraine, in the second such weapons package for Taipei in a week.

In the Indo-Pacific region, only Australia and Indonesia now operate the system, three of which the US said last year Taiwan would receive as part of a $2-billion weapons sale. The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) medium-range air defence solutions, as they are called, are made by RTX, and are a new weapon for Taiwan.

Used in Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion, the NASAMS system offers a sharp boost in air defence capabilities that the US is exporting to Taiwan as demand for it surges. The US approved the sale of fighter jet and other aircraft parts to Taiwan for $330 million on Thursday. The arms sales news comes amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory.