GREEN ISLAND (TVBS News) — Green Island residents were alarmed by the sudden appearance of many USS Pensacola dock landing ships in the waters near their homes, barely a week after China's "encircling" military drills around Taiwan.
The Taiwan Navy issued a statement later, reassuring residents that there was little need for worry and adding that the ships were part of a "routine" military drill.
However, reliable sources claim the drills were an ad hoc exercise to assist the air force in removing MIM-23 HAWK missiles from the island.
Four years ago, Taiwan began setting up surface-to-air missiles on offshore islands like Green Island and Orchid Island in case tensions escalated across the strait.
The Ministry of National Defense soon retired such weapons in favor of the more advanced MIM-104 Patriot missiles and the Sky Bow anti-ballistic missiles.
Chen Kuo-ming, the editor of Defence International Magazine, speculated, "The air force may plan to test the Sky Bow and Patriot missiles in a wide area and then transport them back to the main island since their scope is extensive."
U.S. media reported that U.S.-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers and others close to the matter revealed that Taiwan is also purchasing 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the United States.
The U.S. Congress reportedly approved the arms deal in 2020, but the contract was only signed earlier this month.
"We are currently engaged in the military sales process for one of the cases, and we anticipate it will proceed as planned," Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) Spokesperson Sun Li-fang said.
"We have confidence that the deal will be executed according to the agreed timeline."
As China continues its military drills around Taiwan following every perceived slight on the international stage, Taiwan amps up defense systems and focuses on combat readiness.