US Begins Paperwork to Greenlight Sale of 100 Abrams tanks for Taiwan

The United States has sent a draft Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) to Taiwan, signalling commencement of paperwork to sell over a hundred M1A1 Abrams tanks to the island nation.

The development has come four months after the US State Department gave a nod to Taipei’s request of buying 108 M1A2T Abrams Tanks, over 250 Stinger missiles and other related equipment amounting $2.2 billion.

“The US has already sent a draft LOA on the M1A2 deal to Taiwan,” Yen De-fa, Defense Minister, said at a joint hearing of the Finance Committee and the Foreign and National Defense Committee at the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday, reports Focus Taiwan.

The minister, however, did not reveal when the LOA, that details US’ offer, was received.

“Republic of China (ROC) will sign the LOA at the end of November or early December following review,” Chief of Staff of the ROC Army Yang Hai-ming, asserted.

A final version of the LOA will be sent by the US once Taiwan confirms details such as the items, services and price, a military official said.

“The US side recently sent technical personnel to Taiwan to make proposals regarding maintenance plants, oil depots and other related facilities,” he added.

Currently, the ROC Armed Forces have about 1,000 battle tanks, mostly aging M60A3 and CM-11 models.