Taiwan Debates U.S. Patriot Missile Purchase

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said yesterday that the country must purchase more Patriot antimissile systems from the United States to counter the threat from China, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 24, 2005).

Opposition parties in Taiwan have blocked a $10.6 billion arms purchase from the United States, according to AFP.

Beijing has at least 800 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan, a number that is expected to continue increasing by 100 annually amidst the ongoing territorial dispute, according to the Defense Ministry. Based on drills conducted in 2005, Taiwan’s unfinished defenses would only be expected to stop two-thirds of incoming missiles, officials said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 7).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.