Taiwan will acquire land-launch version of Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US. According to media news, island nation will get about 400 missiles with aim to deploy them as deterrence against any possible Chinese naval invasion. The deal for these missiles was approved by the US Congress in 2020. Taiwan already operates a ship-launched version of this deadly missile which is produced by US military contractor Boeing.

The deal is significant in the context of ongoing US-China tensions over Taiwan and overall Asia-Pacific great power competition. China claims Taiwan as part of its mainland territory while the US despite agreeing on “One China” policy of Beijing, supports the Taiwanese right of self-defense against Chinese threat.

Total value of this deal is 1.7 billion USD. According to media reports, Harpoons are not the only item Taiwan is going to get from the US in near future. US congressmen and House Foreign Affairs Committee are pushing Biden administration to accelerate 19 Billion USD defense aid to Taiwan which is “backlogged” already. This aid includes an unspecified number of F-16 Block 70 fighter, the MK-48 torpedo, the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer and the Stinger missile.

Ground-launched Harpoon missiles used for coastal defense figured prominently in a series of tabletop war games of a potential invasion of Taiwan by China conducted last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

News Desk