On Wednesday, September 7, it was reported that the U.S. State Department had approved Taiwan’s requests to purchase AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles, AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II missiles, and contract logistics assistance for the Surveillance Radar Program under three foreign military sales agreements to the tune of more than a billion dollars. As part of Taiwan’s porcupine policy intended to discourage China from blockading or invading the island, the U.S. is arming the self-governing island with powerful defensive weapons in case Beijing attacks.

Also on Wednesday, September 7, diplomats from the United States, Japan, and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment on Wednesday to working together in response to any threat from North Korea, including a possible new nuclear test. The three senior diplomats in charge of North Korean affairs also underscored their efforts to strengthen their security partnership. Japan and South Korea acknowledge their need to improve bilateral and trilateral cooperation. Relations between Japan and South Korea have been badly damaged by historical disputes over Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

On Thursday, September 8, an experiment for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office resulted in three different missile types being fired from one open-architecture National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System. The “layered” test showed how the existing NASAMS system could defend air bases against cruise missiles at varying distances.

On Friday, September 9, it was announced that North Korea has officially enshrined the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself in a new law that leader Kim Jong Un said makes its nuclear status “irreversible” and bars denuclearization talks, state media reported on Friday. Among the scenarios that could trigger a nuclear attack would be the threat of an imminent nuclear strike; if the country’s leadership, people or existence were under threat; or to gain the upper hand during a war, among other reasons.

On Monday, September 12, it was reported that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has tracked eight Chinese military aircraft and five naval ships around Taiwan as of 5 p.m. on Sunday. Of the eight People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, including two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and one KVD-001 reconnaissance drone in the northeast sector of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. Meanwhile, one Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance plane and one BZK-007 reconnaissance drone were spotted in the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ.

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