Let me first wish you a happy, healthy and successful New Year! It will certainly be an eventful year for the arms control community and a decisive year for the goal of a nuclear-weapons-free world.

On January 14, the editors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will move the doomsday clock. Click here to watch a live stream of the event.

Now back to missile defense:

NTI reports (January 7, 2010) that Taiwan will eventually receive PAC-3:

Lockheed Martin Corp. has been cleared to sell Patriot Advanced Capability 3 systems to Taipei, said Washington’s unofficial embassy in Taiwan. The new armaments, defense experts say, could give Taiwan the ability to eliiminate short- and medium-range missiles launched from China.

The Patriots appear to be the final component of a $6.5 billion weapons deal approved in the final months of the Bush administration. “This is the last piece that Taiwan has been waiting on,” said Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chief for Defense News.

I doubt that this arms sale will contribute to stability in the region. Moreover, it is not unlikely that it will fuel China’s suspicions regarding Washington’s missile defense plans.

In the Middle East, Israel is advancing its multi-tier missile defense system as Iron Dome (click here to watch a video on Iron Dome by its manufatcurer Rafael) has successfully completed final tests and “is planned to be integrated into the Israeli Army within six months, officials said.” (Defense News, January 7, 2010)

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