By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The State Department on Thursday cleared a massive arms deal for Taiwan, worth up to $1.3 billion.
The move comes as at a time when the Trump administration continues to rely on China to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
The potential package includes seven different items sought by the Taiwanese government:
- Early Warning Radar Surveillance Technical Support ($400 million)
- AGM-154C Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) ($185.5 million)
- AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) Missiles ($147.5 million)
- MK 48 6AT Heavy Weight Torpedoes ($250 million)
- MK 46 to MK-54 Torpedo Upgrade ($175 million)
- SM-2 Missile Components ($125 million)
- AN/SLQ-32A Electronic Warfare (EW) Shipboard Suite Upgrade ($80 million)
As with all foreign military sales, the agreement must be cleared by Congress and then go through actual negotiations over the equipment and dollar figures. As a result, the sale will likely shift and end up below the $1.3 billion estimate.
A U.S government official, speaking on background ahead of the announcement, said the weapons offer does not reflect any change in the long-standing “One China” policy. China does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
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