Taiwan seeks to acquire long-range cruise missiles from the United States, a defense official said Monday, as the island claimed by China strengthens its forces in the face of growing pressure from Beijing.
While Taiwan is developing its own long-range missiles, to give it a chance to re-attack deeply into China in the event of war, it has also looked to the United States to provide it with more advanced weapons. Read more
Asked in parliament what weapons systems Taiwan wants to buy, but the United States has not yet said yes, Lee Shih-chiang, head of the strategic planning department of Taiwan’s defense ministry, named the AGM-158 of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N).
“We’re still in the process of looking for it,” in the United States, Lee said. “The communication channels are very smooth and normal.”
He did not elaborate.
The AGM-158 JASSM, which means “air-to-surface separation missile,” can have a range of nearly 1,000 km (621 miles) depending on the model, and can be attached to aircraft including the F-16s, which Taiwan operates.
Lockheed Martin says the missile is designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed, and relocable targets, and that it is launched far enough to keep the launch aircraft away from enemy air defense systems.
China has intensified military activity near Taiwan as it tries to force the Taipei government to accept Beijing’s claims to sovereignty.
Taiwan’s armed forces, packaged by those in China, are in the midst of a modernization program to provide a more effective deterrent, including the ability to re-attack bases off the coast of China in the event of conflict.
Taiwan’s armed forces have traditionally concentrated on defending the island from a Chinese attack.
But President Tsai Ing-wen has stressed the importance of developing an “asymmetrical” deterrent factor, which uses mobile equipment that is difficult to find and destroy and that can achieve targets far removed from Taiwan.
Washington, Taipei’s main foreign arms supplier, has been eager to create a military counterweight to Chinese forces, building on an effort known to the Pentagon as the “Taiwan Fortress.”
Beijing regards Taiwan as a Chinese sovereign territory and has never given up the use of force to bring it under its control.
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