TAIPEI: Taiwan has obtained 38 superior Abrams battle tanks from the US, the defence ministry mentioned on Monday (Dec 16), because the island boosts its army capabilities in opposition to a possible Chinese language assault.
Washington has lengthy been Taipei’s most necessary ally and largest arms provider – angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a part of its personal territory.
The M1A2 tanks – the primary batch of 108 ordered in 2019 – arrived in Taiwan late on Sunday and had been transferred to a military coaching base in Hsinchu, south of the capital Taipei, the defence ministry mentioned.
Abrams tanks, that are among the many heaviest on the earth, are a mainstay of the US army.
The M1A2s are the primary new tanks to be delivered to Taiwan in 30 years, the semi-official Central Information Company mentioned.
Taiwan’s present tank drive consists of round 1,000 Taiwan-made CM 11 Courageous Tiger and US-made M60A3 tanks, expertise that’s more and more out of date.
The federal government beforehand allotted the equal of greater than US$1.2 billion for the 108 Abrams.
Taiwan faces the fixed menace of an invasion by China, which has refused to rule out utilizing drive to deliver the self-ruled island beneath its management.
Whereas it has a homegrown defence business and has been upgrading its gear, Taiwan depends closely on US arms gross sales to bolster its safety capabilities.
