The United States confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced air defense missile system worth almost $700 million which has been battle-tested in Ukraine, in the second such weapons package for Taipei in a week.

In the Indo-Pacific region, only Australia and Indonesia now operate the system, three of which the United States said last year Taiwan would receive as part of a $2-billion weapons sale.

The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) medium-range air defencse solutions, as they are called, are made by RTX, and are a new weapon for Taiwan.