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China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up
military and political pressure over the past three years to try
to force the democratically governed island to accept Beijing's
rule.
NASAMS have been provided by the United States for use in
Ukraine, with U.S. officials saying they have had a 100% success
rate in intercepting Russian missiles.
The system, developed and built by Raytheon Technologies and
Norway's Kongsberg Gruppen is a short- to medium-range
ground-based air defence system that protects against drone,
missile, and aircraft attack, which both Canada and Lithuania
have also bought, or are buying for Ukraine.
Asked on the sidelines of parliament about Taiwan buying NASAMS,
Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said "certainly" there was a
proposal to get them.
"This work must be done in accordance with the enemy situation,"
he said. "We have seen from the Russia-Ukraine war that these
weapons definitely have good performance."
However, Taiwan has not received any official notification from
the U.S. that they will sell NASAMS to Taipei, Chiu said.
"But we need this work to be done as soon as possible."
The U.S., Taiwan's main foreign source of weapons, formally
makes notifications to the island about the arms Washington is
willing to sell.
The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to
defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic relations.
China routinely denounces such arms sales.
Taiwan's military has been paying close attention to the war in
Ukraine for lessons on defending against a much larger opponent,
for example by the use of drones.
(Reporting by Roger Tung and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sharon
Singleton)
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