Taiwan strengthens its air defense system thanks to United States

Taipei bought in Washington for $ 100 million in equipment and services to meet the growing incursions of Chinese war aircraft.

Le Monde with AFP

That’s not going to please China. Taiwan expressed his “gratitude,” Tuesday, February 8, in the United States for approving a sale of weapons supposed to keep up to his Patriot air defense system. In the grip of incursions increasingly frequently of Chinese war aircraft in its air defense identification zone, the island bought for $ 100 million (87.5 million euros) of equipment and services for its anti-aircraft and missile defense systems.

“This is the second selling weapons in Taiwan since the arrival of President Joe Biden and the first this year,” said the spokesman for the Taiwanese Presidency Xavier Chang in a statement. “This reflects the alliance, solid as of the stone, between Taiwan and the United States,” he added. The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said to expect a current delivery March.

According to a statement of the US Defense and Security Cooperation Agency, the Agreement concerns the technical support and maintenance of air defense systems and will “guarantee the availability of air operations”. “The beneficiary will use this capacity as a deterrent against regional threats and to strengthen the defense of the territory,” the US agency clarified.

Under the consistency threat of China

The first major sale of arms in Beijing under the Biden administration dates back to August, with the agreement given to a delivery of 40 self-propelled guns M109A6 of 155 mm.

Taiwan, who has his own democratic government, lives under the constant threat of China, who claims his sovereignty on the island and promised to resume it, by force if necessary.

Beijing has multiplied the incursions into the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Area in recent months, with 969 Chinese war planes identified by the Taiwanese authorities last year, according to a count held by the France-Presse agency , more than double 380 of 2020.

Patriot is a very mobile soil-air missile system that would constitute a crucial defense against Chinese hunting planes. Washington does Diplomatically Diplomatically Beijing and Non Taipei, but the US Congress is committed to selling weapons in Taiwan for the defense of its territory.

Former US President Donald Trump, in opposition to Beijing on a host of issues ranging from trade to national security, has accelerated arms sales in Taiwan during his term. These sales included drones, missile systems and new generation hunting aircraft.

/Media reports.