Taiwan has no information on U.S. Harpoon missile sales: MND
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Aug. 28 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has not received any information on the possible sale of Harpoon Air-Launch missiles by the United States to Taiwan, military spokeswoman Lisa Chi said Thursday.
Chi was responding to a Reuters report published a day earlier, which stated that the United States will sell 60 Harpoon Air-Launch missiles worth NT$90 billion to Taiwan. According to the report, the decision will end a freeze on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
However, Chi said the request to procure the Harpoon Air-Launch missiles from the United States was put forward by the ROC Air Force last year and Taiwan does not expect a positive response until 2009.
"We have not received any formal notification from the U.S. side," Chi said.
The Bush administration is still sitting on US$11 billion worth of additional weaponry requested by Taiwan.
The list of military hardware reportedly being held up includes anti-tank missiles, Apache helicopters, Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries, diesel-powered submarines, P3C anti-submarine aircraft and sea-launch Harpoon missiles.
Taiwan fears that if the notifications are not sent to the U.S. Congress a month before it adjourns in late September, approval of the sale will be pushed back to 2009 under a new U.S. administration.
Responding to speculations surrounding the delay in processing the deal, the U.S. Department of State reiterated last month that Washington has not changed its policy on arms sales to Taiwan.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said July 18 that the administration "faithfully implements the Taiwan Relations Act" and that there is an "internal interagency process" for the U.S. government to consider all military exports, including sales to Taiwan.
"When the interagency process achieves a final decision for specific arms sales, we will notify Congress," he said. (By Y.F. Low) ENDITEM /pc
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