Washington has announced new arms sales to Taiwan, for 1.1 billion dollars and arouses the ire of China, which considers the island as part of its territory. Beijing immediately called on the US to back down, threatening to take “countermeasures”.
This new arms sale comes a month after a visit to Taiwan by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, which had provoked the fury of Beijing. China then launched the most important military maneuvers in its history around the island.
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War Weapons Sales
The US government approved the sale to Taipei for $355 million of 60 Harpoon missiles capable of sinking warships, 100 Sidewinder short-range missiles ($85.6 million), capable of intercepting missiles or drones, and a maintenance contract for the Taiwan radar system valued at 665 million, the State Department said in a statement.
These transactions “serve the economic and national security interests of the United States by supporting (Taiwan’s) efforts to modernize its armed forces”underlined the American diplomacy via a spokesperson.
This is the biggest US arms sale for Taiwan since Joe Biden took over as president in January 2021.
Commercial drone shot down
The announcement comes a day after Taiwanese forces shot down an unidentified commercial drone, part of a sudden series of incursions that have caused confusion on the island after Beijing’s previous show of force, which said firing ballistic missiles over the capital Taipei.
Beijing immediately demanded that Washington renounce these transactions, declaring “strongly opposed”by the voice of the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu.
China calls on the United States to “revoke immediately” arms sales to Taiwan, “lest they further affect relations with the United States, as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”the spokesperson added in a statement.
“China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary countermeasures in view of the situation”he concluded.
Congress approval required
To materialize, these sales must receive the approval of Congress, which is almost certain, military support for Taiwan enjoying broad support among elected officials on both sides. According to a State Department spokesperson, the United States has informed Congress of more than $35 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010.
These arms sales are “essential to Taiwan’s security and we will continue to work with the defense industry to support this goal”added the spokesman for the State Department.
“We call on Beijing to end its military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in dialogue. The United States continues to support a peaceful resolution of the matter, in accordance with the wishes and in the interest of the Taiwanese people.”he concluded.
On the Taipei side, “This arms sale will not only help our soldiers fight coercion in the gray zone, it will also strengthen the island’s early warning capabilities against long-range ballistic missiles”said Chang Tun-han, the spokesman for the Taiwanese presidency, in a statement of thanks.
Taiwan Self-Defense Capability
Before the controversial visit to Taiwan by Ms. Pelosi, the number three in the United States and the most senior American official to visit the island in decades, Joe Biden’s entourage had quietly argued to China that she did not represent not administration policy, Congress being a separate branch of government.
The green light for arms sales, on the other hand, clearly comes from the Biden administration, even if it is in line with the policy applied since 1979, when Washington recognized Beijing while agreeing to maintain the capacity to self-defense of Taiwan.
During a trip to Tokyo in May, Joe Biden appeared to break with decades of US policy by saying the US would directly defend Taiwan if attacked, but his aides later backtracked on his remarks to maintain the concept intentionally blurred “strategic ambiguity”.
