Updated at 10.19am:
The
Bush administration may let Taiwan take delivery of advanced
air-to-air missiles originally sold on condition they not be
delivered straight away for fear of triggering a regional arms race,
the Pentagon said on Friday (HK time).
At issue is the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile,
or AMRAAM, which could be deployed on Taiwan's US-built F-16 fighter
fleet. Taiwan contracted for 120 of the combat-proven missiles in
2000. They are now in production by Raytheon.
''Our
policy requires that these missiles not be released to Taiwan unless
there is evidence that China has similar missiles as part of its
operational inventory,'' said Defence Department spokesman Air Force
Maj. Jay Steuck.
''Our policy is under review,'' he added. ''No decision has been
made'' on whether the missiles will be sent.
Word of the policy review follows China's reported testing last
week of a similar ''fire-and-forget'' missile, the AA-12 ''Adder''
built by Russia. Once fired, such missiles use an active radar on
board to guide them independently.
The Washington Times, the first to report the test-firing, cited
US defence officials as saying two Russian-built Su-30 fighters had
used the weapons to destroy target drones.
Any deployment of the AA-12, known as the R-77 in Russia, would
significantly enhance Chinese combat capabilities against Taiwan's
air force, defence experts said.
China considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be united
with the mainland, by force if necessary.
In Taipei, Major General Peng Chin-ming, head of Taiwan's air
force's operations bureau, told reporters on Tuesday that Taiwan was
ready to take delivery of AMRAAMs and confirmed the Chinese test of
its Russian equivalent.
Mr Steuck, the Pentagon spokesman, declined comment on the
reported Chinese test-firing, citing a policy of not discussing
intelligence matters. Asked about the release of the AMRAAM to
Taiwan, he referred a caller to the State Department, which oversees
government-to-government US military sales.
The State Department had no immediate comment, said a spokesman,
Frederick Jones.
Richard Fisher, an expert on the Taiwan and Chinese militaries at
the Washington-based Jamestown Federation, a research group, said
Taiwan needed the AMRAAM to counter Chinese military advances.
In patrols over the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan fighters already were
reluctant to approach within the ''envelop range'' of short-range
air-to-air missiles that can be fired from helmet-sited gear used by
Su-27 and Su-30 fighters, he said.
The AMRAAM has scored combat victories over the skies in Iraq,
Bosnia and Kosovo, according to Raytheon. It can be launched at an
enemy aircraft day or night regardless of weather
conditions.
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