Taiwan Requests $2Billion Worth Arms From USA

Taiwan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has requested $2billion worth of arms that includes tanks, air defence and anti-tank missile systems from the United States, the MoD said in a statement Thursday.

The MoD said that it had submitted a letter of request (LOR) for 108 M1A2 Abrams tanks, 1240 TOW anti-armour missiles, 409 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 250 Stinger man-portable air defence systems from America.

According to reports published during March of this year, the country was looking to purchase 108 US-made M1A2X main battle tanks (MBTs).

“The Pentagon and State Department have informally notified Congress of a potential $2 billion deal with Taiwan that includes the first-time sale of one of the US Army’s top tanks,” an official familiar with the proposal told Bloomberg.

The informal notification, reported earlier Wednesday by Reuters, will be followed by a formal and public notification to Congress that’s likely to be approved within the normal 30-day review process. 

The request was proceeding "as normal,” Taiwan’s MoD said.

The ministry is also said to have submitted a request for 66 F-16V Block 70/72 fighter jets from the US for an approximate $13 billion in February this year, costing an approximate $70 million to $90 million apiece.