by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washignton : The US State Department has approved on Friday a possible $15 billion sale of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems to Saudi Arabia, according to a statement released by the Pentagon.
The Middle East country has requested to purchase 44 THAAD launchers, 360 missiles, 16 fire control station and 7 radars, Xinhua quoted the said the statement as saying.
The sale was part of the $110 billion package of defence equipment and services initially announced during US President Donald Trump’s May trip to Saudi Arabia, said an official from the US State Department on condition of anonymity.
“This potential sale will substantially increase Saudi Arabia’s capability to defend itself against the growing ballistic missile threat in the region,” said the statement from the Pentagon.
Congress has been notified about the possible sale and has 30 days to review the deal.
THAAD missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing, World
Seoul, S.Korea : South Korean companies’ investment in China declined 43.7 per cent in the first seven months of this year amid a prolonged diplomatic dispute over the deployment of a US missile defence system, central bank data showed Sunday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Their direct investment totalled US$1.75 billion in the January-July period, down from $3.11 billion in the same period last year.
The sharp drop compares to moderate 1.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent declines in investments by the European Union (EU) and Japan, respectively, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Recently, South Korea’s retail giant Lotte decided to sell its discount store chain in China as Beijing stepped up economic retaliation against Seoul over the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on its soil.
Despite repeated assurances from Seoul and Washington that the THAAD system is designed only to defend against North Korea, China has long voiced opposition to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, arguing that it hurts its security interests.
— NNN-BERNAMA
