According to Reuters, the U.S. State Department has given the go-ahead for a potential $1.1 billion sale of military hardware to Taiwan.
100 air-to-air missiles and 60 anti-ship missiles are included in the transaction. According to the Guardian, the major component of the transaction is a $655M logistics support package for Taiwan’s monitoring radar program, which offers air defense alerts.
According to American authorities, the agreement does not signal a shift in American policy toward Taiwan. According to an unnamed U.S. Department of State spokeswoman, “These proposed sales are regular cases to assist Taiwan’s continuous efforts to upgrade its armed forces and to retain a credible defensive capability.”
According to Drew Thompson, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore, this agreement constitutes the biggest amount of support the Biden administration has provided Taiwan.
According to Laura Rosenberger, senior director for China and Taiwan at the White House, “we’re giving Taiwan what it needs to maintain its self-defense capabilities as the PRC continues to increase pressure on Taiwan, including through heightened military air and maritime presence around Taiwan, and engages in attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”
Chinese government representatives promptly voiced their unhappiness with the prospective sale. The sale “seriously jeopardizes China-U.S. ties and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington. She also stated that China would forcefully take the required countermeasures given the development of the situation.
Taiwanese officials expressed appreciation for the sale announcement. The Taiwanese defense ministry said in a statement that the agreement “demonstrates that it would help our country develop its entire military capabilities and jointly preserve the security and peace of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.”
In recent months, there has been a sharp increase in tensions between Taiwan and China. Taiwan continues to have an independent democratic government despite China claiming Taiwan as its own territory.
U.S. official visits to Taiwan have worsened the already deteriorating ties between the U.S. and China. China stopped discussing climate change and military cooperation with the United States last month. Congress must approve the arms sales, but according to Reuters, legislative aides for both Democrats and Republicans said they did not anticipate any opposition.
