Taiwan inks $6.6B arms procurement deals with US

Taiwan said Wednesday it signed six arms procurement agreements with the US earlier this month worth 208.77 billion New Taiwan dollars ($6.6 billion), according to Focus Taiwan.

The purchases include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, with $3.9 billion allocated for HIMARS, $2.3 billion for the howitzers and $168 million for missile stockpile replenishment.

The remaining agreements cover Navy anti-armor missiles, joint Taiwan-US production of large-caliber ammunition and consulting services for an integrated air defense system.

The deals were finalized after Taiwan's military said Washington agreed to allow delayed payments for 82 HIMARS and 60 M109A7 systems.

The delay stems from a holdup in Taiwan's legislature in passing a special defense budget proposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to help finance the purchases.

Washington remains Taipei's top arms supplier. The Trump administration approved a record $11 billion in arms sales last year, prompting protests from Beijing, which also sanctioned several US arms firms and their personnel.

Separately on Thursday, Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling visited Taiping Island to observe a maritime rescue drill, the first such trip by a council head in seven years.

Taiping, also known as Itu Aba, is the largest naturally occurring island in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and is controlled by Taiwan.

The drill included scenarios in which the Coast Guard intercepted a suspicious cargo ship near Taiping Island and escorted it to a dock for inspection, as well as a collision and rescue operation.