Taiwan is reportedly buying 300 Patriot missile systems from the United States to strengthen its air defense against a possible invasion by China. The Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s airspace have increased in recent months. Taiwan’s next-year budget would include the purchase of 300 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile systems from the US, Hong Kong-based news agency Apple Daily said. This would take Taiwan’s arsenal of PAC-3 missiles to 650 by 2027.
The Taiwanese Air Force Chief of Staff, however, refused to disclose any details of the acquisition but assured that it would remain under the $6 billion budget earlier allocated, according to Taiwan News.
Vice Defense Minister Chang Che-Ping said that since the country started the acquisition of Patriot missiles, it had always asked for a much larger quantity of the systems. However, the US government, according to their own assessments about Taiwan’s budget, thought that the island nation would only require small amounts....more