Taiwan, which faces the persistent threat from its powerful neighbor China, reportedly participated in a presentation of a United States air and missile defense command system.
Newsweek has emailed U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman and Taiwan‘s military for comment. The Chinese military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
China has long claimed that Taiwan, which is a self-ruled island and a security partner of the U.S., is part of its territory despite never having governed it. Beijing has also stated that it “reserves all options” against Taiwan, refusing to renounce the use of military force.
The U.S. is required by the Taiwan Relations Act, which is part of its One China policy, to provide the island with defensive arms, as well as to maintain its own capability to resist any attempt to resolve differences across the Taiwan Strait by other than peaceful means.
Sean McLay, who is the director of business development at Northrop Grumman, revealed on LinkedIn last week that he presented the company’s “vision of a connected battlespace with Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS)” to military officials in Taiwan recently.
The IBCS is an air and missile defense system that can integrate sensors and weapons that were never designed to work together into a single command and control system, allowing the operators to see and act on data across the battlefield swiftly, Northrop Grumman said.
Lieutenant General Liu Hsiao-tang, chief of Taiwan’s Air Force Air Defense and Missile Command, had a “productive discussion” with Northrop Grumman’s representatives on the value of a system such as the IBCS in strengthening Taiwan’s defense, the LinkedIn post added.
It was not immediately clear where and when exactly the presentation took place. “These talks are just the beginning of how we can become stronger together,” the post claimed.
