US Arms Sale for Taiwan
The United States has recently announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Taiwan and pledged to further bolster the island’s defenses amid rising tensions with Beijing, which Washington has said warned of “countermeasures”.
The sale comes a month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defiantly toured the self-governing democracy, prompting mainland China to launch a show of force that could be a dry run for a future invasion.
The package – the largest for Taiwan approved under President Joe Biden’s administration – includes $665 million to help contractors maintain and upgrade a Raytheon radar early warning system that has been in operation since 2013 and Taiwan previously would warn of an impending attack.
Taiwan will also spend $355 million on 60 Harpoon Block II missiles that can track and sink incoming ships if China launches a waterborne attack. The announcement of the sale comes a day after Taiwanese forces shot down an unidentified commercial drone amid a sudden series of mysterious incursions that have disrupted the island after Beijing’s previous show of force, which said launching ballistic missiles at the capital Taipei.
China has called Taiwan an “inalienable” part of its territory and urged the United States to “immediately revoke” arms sales. “It sends false signals to separatist ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and seriously jeopardizes China-US relations and cross-strait peace and stability,” said spokesperson Liu Pengyu. Chinese Embassy in Washington.
“China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary countermeasures as the situation evolves,” he added.
A State Department spokesman, who approved the sale, said the package was “essential to Taiwan’s security” and stressed that the United States still only recognizes Beijing and not Taipei.
“We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The sales “are routine cases in support of Taiwan’s continued efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a credible defense capability,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity, as required by protocol. “The United States will continue to support a peaceful solution to cross-border problems, consistent with the aspirations and interests of the people of Taiwan.”
The sale will require congressional approval, which is almost certain as Taiwan enjoys strong support across party lines.
Prior to Pelosi’s visit, who is second in line to the White House, Biden officials quietly made it clear to China that he did not represent the administration’s policies, as Congress is a separate and equal branch of government.
The approval of the weapons, on the other hand, comes clearly from the Biden administration, although it has been in line with sales since 1979, when the United States transferred recognition to Beijing but agreed to maintain Taiwan’s self-defense capability.
Biden, on a trip to Tokyo in May, appeared to break away from decades of US policy by saying the US would immediately defend Taiwan if it was attacked, although his collaborators later backtracked on his comments, insisting that US policy was deliberately ambiguous. She stayed.
China sees Taiwan as a province awaiting reunification, if necessary by force. Chinese nationalists set up a rival government in Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war on the mainland, although the island has since become a vibrant democracy and a major technology hub.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised growing questions about whether China can follow Taiwan’s lead and whether the island is prepared to defend itself.
US Arms Sale for Taiwan
Speaking in July, CIA chief Bill Burns said Chinese President Xi Jinping was still determined to take control of Taiwan, but Russia’s problems in Ukraine may have caused Beijing to wait. and ensure there was an overwhelming military advantage.
