By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday that Lockheed Martin was given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls "an urgent operational need" of the Taiwan Air Force.
The contract has a ceiling value of $328.5 million, with $157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Washington has formal diplomatic ties with China, but maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island's most important arms supplier. The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though such arms sales are a persistent source of friction with China.
Taiwan remained on high alert on Wednesday after China staged massive military drills around the island the previous day, keeping its emergency maritime response centre running as it monitored Chinese naval maneuvers, the coast guard said.
KEY QUOTES
"This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of fifty-five Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor pods, processors, pod containers, and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan Air Force," the Pentagon said.
It added that the contract's work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031.
CONTEXT
In mid-December, the administration of President Donald Trump announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever U.S. weapons package for the island which is under increasing military pressure from China.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and it has not ruled out using force to take it under Chinese control. Taiwan, which rejects China's claims, condemned the latest drills as a threat to regional security and a blatant provocation.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)
