The United States agrees to sell $ 600 million of MQ-9 Reaper UAVs to Taiwan

 

The Foreign Ministry said the sale helps Taiwan "its continuous efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a reliable defense capability."

Washington:

The United States has agreed to sell four armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Taiwan, the State Department announced Tuesday, helping to bolster the island's defenses as China intensifies its threats.

The Foreign Ministry said the sale of $ 600 million would assist Taiwan in "its continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a reliable defense capability."

The ministry said in a statement that it would also help maintain political stability and military balance in the region.

The sale covers four drones, ground stations, and associated surveillance and communications equipment, but typically does not include bombs or associated missiles.

The drone deal comes on the heels of several other major weapons packages to Taiwan that were announced in recent weeks worth $ 4.2 billion, including powerful anti-ship Harpoon missiles, SLAM-ER air-launched cruise missiles, and aerial reconnaissance technology. , And mobile light rocket launchers.

The sales angered Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province since it split from mainland China under an exiled government seven decades ago.

As Taiwan has for decades back away from tacit US security guarantees, Washington has urged it to enhance its own capabilities to resist China's efforts to retake it by force.

In recent months, the Chinese military has simulated amphibious landings on Taiwan-like land and has repeatedly launched aircraft into the island's airspace.

The US military has used unmanned Reapers, made by General Atomics, to carry out long high-altitude reconnaissance missions and to identify attacks and assassinations to jihadists in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The sale is the first after the United States government decided in July to partially move away from the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime, as 35 countries agreed to restrict sales of unmanned weapons delivery systems.