Taipei, February 22 (EFE).- The United States has approved the possible sale of an advanced military data link system upgrade to Taiwan, the first acquisition of this type following Taipei’s January election, the island’s government confirmed Thursday.
In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it received formal notification from the US government about the possible sale of the Link-16 system to Taiwan for an estimated value of $75 million.
Link-16 is a standardized communications system used by the armed forces of the US and other countries to transmit and exchange real-time tactical data through the use of links between allied military network participants.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement that “the proposed sale will improve the recipient’s ability to meet current and future threats by enhancing communications and network security, and providing infrastructure to allow the secure flow of tactical information.”
In this sense, the island’s foreign ministry expressed its gratitude to the US Executive for continuing to implement its security commitments with Taiwan.
This sale of military equipment from the United States to Taiwan, the 13th under the administration of US President Joe Biden, is the first to be announced after Taipei’s Jan. 13 presidential election, in which the ruling party’s candidate William Lai (Lai Ching-te) won.
Taiwan has been governed autonomously since 1949, although China claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebel province, and has not ruled out use of force to achieve “reunification.”
The cross-Strait tension is one of the main points of friction between Beijing and Washington, since the US is Taipei’s main arms supplier and could defend the island in the event of conflict. EFE
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