US confirms sale of $911m air defence missile system to Taiwan

TAIPEI - The US has confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced air defence missile system worth almost US$700 million (S$911.6 million) which 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 operate the system, three of which the US said Taiwan would receive as part of a US$2 billion weapons sale.

The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (Nasams) medium-range air defence solutions are made by RTX, and are a new weapon for Taiwan.

The Pentagon said the company was given a firm fixed-price contract for procurement of the Nasams units, with work estimated to be completed in February 2031.

"Fiscal 2026 foreign military sales (Taiwan) funds in the amount of US$698,948,760 were obligated," it said in a statement.

RTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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.

“It should be clear today and will remain clear into the future that America’s commitments to Taiwan are rock solid,” Mr Raymond Greene, the de facto US ambassador in Taipei, told an event of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan on Nov 18.

“We are backing these words with actions, with a focus on supporting Taiwan’s efforts to achieve peace through strength. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our growing defence industrial cooperation.”

The US approved the

sale of fighter jet and other aircraft parts to Taiwan

for US$330 million on Nov 13, in the first such deal since President Donald Trump took office in January, prompting thanks from Taipei and anger in Beijing.

News of the arms sales comes amid a

worsening

diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo

over Taiwan.

On Nov 16,

Chinese coast guard ships sailed

around a group of East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China. Japan said it scrambled fighter jets on Nov 15 after China flew a drone between Taiwan and Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni.

Asked about the tension on Nov 19, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said: “China should abandon its thinking of using force to resolve things.”

Taiwan’s military is beefing up its armaments to tackle any attack from China, through efforts such as building submarines to defend vital maritime supply lines.

China’s military operates around Taiwan almost daily in what Taipei views as a “grey zone” strategy to test and exhaust Taiwan’s forces.

The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing. REUTERS