by Richard Sanders, Staff Writer
Taiwan and the US have agreed in principle that the island can buy a large quantity of US-made attack drones, Bloomberg has reported citing informed sources.
Taiwan could reportedly get up to 1,000 UAVs from US firms AeroVironment Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc. in accordance with deals that are expected to be signed “soon.”
The attack drones in question should help Taiwan with “blunting a potential Chinese assault on the island democracy,” the agency said in an article on Tuesday.
Washington and Taipei signed a “letter of offer and acceptance” in late September, the report read. The document is the final step before the agreeing of actual contracts, in which the quantities of drones, their prices and delivery deadlines will be outlined, it explained.
Bloomberg stressed that drones have “burgeoned into a major component of modern warfare” as they are being actively used by both sides in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior director with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who traveled to Taiwan to assess its defense needs, told the outlet that the agreement shows “that both Taiwan and the US are learning important lessons from the combat in Ukraine, and turning that knowledge into future procurement.”
A US State Department spokesperson, Taiwan’s office in Washington, and the US-Taiwan Business Council declined to comment when asked about the drone deal by Bloomberg.
In June, the State Department notified Congress that it had approved the sale of Anduril ALTIUS 600M-V drones and AeroVironment Switchblade 300 “B” model UAVs to Taiwan for $360 million.
Officially, the US is committed to the One China policy, stating that Taiwan, which has been self-governed since 1949 but never officially declared independence from Beijing, is an integral part of Chinese territory.
However, Washington has maintained contacts with the authorities in Taipei, sold weapons and military equipment to the island and promised to defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an attack from the mainland.
China has vigorously opposed cooperation between the US and Taiwan, which it views as an infringement of its sovereignty and meddling in its internal affairs.
The stated goal of the Chinese government is “peaceful reunification,” but it has said it would use force should Taipei formally declare independence. In that event, Beijing says the Chinese military will act against outside interference and what it terms a small minority of secessionists.
The report comes amid the intensification of Chinese military exercises around Taiwan following the inauguration of the island’s new president, Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist.”
根據彭博社報導，台灣和美國原則上已達成協議，允許台灣購買大量美國製造的攻擊無人機。
據報導，台灣可能會從美國公司AeroVironment和Anduril Industries獲得多達1000架無人機，相關交易預計將“很快”簽署。
報導指出，這些攻擊無人機應能幫助台灣“抵禦潛在的中國攻擊島嶼民主”。
報導中提到，華盛頓和台北在九月底簽署了一份“報價和接受信”，該文件是實際合同簽署前的最後一步，合同中將列出無人機的數量、價格和交付期限。
彭博社強調，無人機已“迅速成為現代戰爭的重要組成部分”，因為它們在俄烏衝突中被雙方積極使用。
退役海軍准將馬克·蒙哥馬利（Mark Montgomery），民主防衛基金會的高級主任，他曾前往台灣評估其防禦需求，對媒體表示，該協議顯示“台灣和美國都在從烏克蘭戰鬥中學習重要教訓，並將這些知識轉化為未來的採購”。
當彭博社詢問有關無人機交易時，美國國務院發言人、台灣駐華盛頓辦事處及美台商會都拒絕評論。
今年六月，國務院通知國會，已批准以3.6億美元將Anduril ALTIUS 600M-V無人機和AeroVironment Switchblade 300“B”型無人機出售給台灣。
官方上，美國堅持“ One China”政策，聲明台灣自1949年以來自我治理，但從未正式宣布脫離北京獨立，是中國領土不可或缺的一部分。
然而，華盛頓與台北當局保持聯繫，向該島銷售武器和軍事裝備，並承諾在遭到中國大陸攻擊時對台軍事防衛。
中國強烈反對美國與台灣之間的合作，認為這是對其主權的侵犯和對其內政的干涉。
中國政府聲明的目標是“和平統一”，但表示如果台北正式宣布獨立，將會動用武力。在這種情況下，北京表示中國軍方將對外部干涉和所謂的少數分裂分子採取行動。
報導發表之際，中國在台灣附近的軍事演習加劇，這是在該島新總統賴清德就職後進行的，對此北京稱其為“危險的分裂分子”。