The U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptors to the United Arab Emirates and Patriot missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia in separate deals worth as much as $5.3 billion, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The potential deals, which would resupply key missile defense systems for the two countries, came just weeks after President Joe Biden’s July trip to the region. Biden had hoped to reach an oil production deal to lower gasoline prices as inflation hits 40-year highs and threatens his approval ratings, according to Reuters.
Despite approval by the State Department, notification to the U.S. Congress of the deals does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded. The procedural step of notifying Congress is often the first public acknowledgment that a deal is in the works.
The U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of 300 MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical Ballistic Missiles (GEM-T) for the Patriot missile defense system as well as support equipment, spares and technical support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said Raytheon Technologies was the prime contractor for the Patriot interceptors and equipment, which could be worth as much as $3.05 billion.
Separately the State Department approved the potential sale of 96 THAAD missile defense system interceptors and support equipment to the United Arab Emirates along with spares and technical support, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said Lockheed Martin was the prime contractor for the THAAD interceptors and equipment, which could be worth $2.25 billion.
The Biden administration has had a policy of not selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, though it is weighing rolling that back.
 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said it might reconsider a plan agreed with Myanmar to end the violence triggered by the military coup if the generals hang more political prisoners.
The 10-member group, which includes Myanmar, has been pushing for the country to implement the so-called Five-Point Consensus that was agreed upon last April and has criticised last week’s execution of four democracy activists, Al Jazeera reported.
ASEAN’s foreign ministers began their meeting in Phnom Penh having barred the military’s representative from the event.
“If more prisoners are executed, we will be forced to rethink … our role vis-a-vis ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus,” said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is the current chair of ASEAN, speaking at the start of the meeting.
More than 70 political prisoners in Myanmar have been sentenced to death, with at least two dozen more sentenced in absentia.
Myanmar executed four prisoners last month in a move roundly condemned by ASEAN members.
Hun Sen said the bloc was “disappointed and disturbed by the execution of these opposition activists despite the appeals from me and others for the death sentences to be reconsidered for the sake of political dialogue, peace and reconciliation”.
Hun Sen said ASEAN’s unity had been challenged by the political and security implications of the crisis in Myanmar, which has created an economic and humanitarian crisis.
Some 2,145 people have been killed since the military seized power in February 2021, detaining elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.
Hun Sen said while the Five-Point Consensus had “not advanced to everyone’s wishes”, there had been some progress, including in providing humanitarian aid.
But he went on to say the current situation had “changed dramatically” and could be seen as worse than before the peace agreement because of the execution of the activists by the military government.


 

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With the reunification of our motherland being the unstoppable trend of history, any attempts to seek “independence” are doomed to fail.
There is no room for any country to compromise when it comes to the issues of right and wrong, and especially the issues concerning its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. has intensified its efforts to “use Taiwan to contain China”, pushing the situation in the Taiwan Strait to further tensions, and will surely pay a heavy price. The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question has been consistent. It is the firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have already solemnly stated that China will take strong measures to thwart foreign interference or any attempts to seek “Taiwan independence” if the U.S. insists on following the wrong path. We do as we say. No country, no forces and no individuals should ever misestimate the firm resolve, strong will and great capability of the Chinese people to defend the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of their motherland.
China and Iran are comprehensive strategic partners. In the face of the complicated international situation, China and Iran have strengthened solidarity and cooperation, enhanced the common interests of the two sides, and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the vast developing countries. We firmly support each other on issues concerning respective core interests and major concerns, and uphold non-interference in others’ internal affairs, which is a basic norm governing international relations. When speaking to President Xi Jinping on the phone several days ago, President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi emphasized that Iran firmly pursues the one-China principle and supports China in safeguarding its core interests. Upon Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry of Iran immediately issued a statement condemning America’s provocative actions and interference in China’s internal affairs. We highly appreciate and commend Iran’s timely support. We stand ready to work with Iran to constantly push for new progress in the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership.
The will of the people is not to be defied, and the trend of the times cannot be reversed. China must be unified, and it is bound to be unified. The time and momentum to achieve the reunification of our motherland are always firmly in our own hands. The determination of the Chinese government and Chinese people to achieve reunification is rock solid and will not be changed by anyone, any forces or any countries. We firmly oppose the interference by foreign forces and so-called “Taiwan independence”, and we will never leave any space for “Taiwan independence” separatist activities in any form!

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The Americans somehow wanted to test if China would break with protocols governing Washington-Beijing relations. And Pelosi’s trip for them was exactly a pretext as such to test China. Both sides proceeded to issue warnings and carry out some military measures or preparations. The US stationed three warships near Taiwan. On the other hand, in addition to issuing serious political and diplomatic warnings, the Chinese organized several military wargames around Taiwan and scrambled their warplanes to fly although they stopped short of crossing the median line between China and Taiwan.
The Chinese, of course, have not yet managed to stage a concrete military action against the Americans. But they have, in fact, taken a further step compared to 25 years ago when then-speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, visited Taiwan. In that time, the Chinese limited their reactions to issuing statements of protest and holding rallies inside mainland China, while this time they went beyond that in reacting to Pelosi’s visit, staging military reactions in the form of live-fire exercises.
In fact, Pelosi’s trip revealed that the issue of Taiwan and protecting China’s territorial integrity is still on Beijing’s agenda. Moreover, the Chinese seem to lack the capacity or the will to militarily implement their wishes and advance their policies, and won’t engage in a military crisis without a good reason. Taken at face value, the Americans took credit for the events of the last couple of days at the expense of the Chinese. But from a strategic point of view, the Chinese served Americans with a stern warning that China would take a bolder military action if the US engages in a similar activity in the future: Given the fact that they have made a bolder move compared to 25 years ago, they showed that they are ready to take further steps.
Owing to both the global balance of power and their own long-term plans and objectives, the Chinese currently tend to treat various issues more conservatively, which means they wouldn’t compromise their long-term objectives for one tactical, emotionally-charged action. The Chinese expect their economy to catch up to that of America by 2025. That is, they have set economy to be their primary area of rivalry with the US. Therefore, they know that getting involved in a military crisis would not be helpful to advancing their long-term economic policies. That’s why Beijing tries various ways to manage different crises in order to keep them from undermining its lofty objectives.