Multiple reports suggest that the Trump administration is moving ahead with its plans to export advanced weapons to Taiwan amid increased Chinese aggression, and has already notified Congress of the sale.
Reuters cited sources familiar with the situation saying that the White House plans to sell multiple sophisticated weapons systems to the self-governed island, including but not limited to MQ-9 drones made by General Atomics, Boeing’s land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles and long-range air-to-ground missiles, known as the Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and external sensor pods for Taiwan’s fleet of F-16 jets.
Neither the US State Department nor the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency, the arm of the defense department which oversees foreign arms sales has commented on the matter.
Following China’s imposition of the draconian national security law in Hong Kong, the future of Taiwan has been a matter of great concern in the international community, with China stepping up its military maneuvers near Taiwan’s waters and incursions into the latter’s airspace. The US has warned China against attacking Taiwan, arguing that there was a lot of ambiguity about how it would respond in such a situation, in reference to its long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity on the question of whether it would physically defend Taiwan in case of an invasion.
Under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, which forms the basis for Washington’s relationship with Taipei, the US is required to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Accordingly, Donald Trump has authorized more than $600 million in arms sales to Taiwan in this year alone. The US has also encouraged Taiwan to significantly increase its defense expenditure in order to effectively counter military threats from Beijing.
China has responded harshly to the warming of relations between the US and Taiwan, arguing that they violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués. On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that Beijing would take the “legitimate and necessary” response to the US’ actions and urged Washington to immediately halt all weapons sales to Taiwan.
US Plans Arms Sale to Taiwan, China Voices Firm Opposition
Beijing has said that it would take the “legitimate and necessary” response to the US’ actions and urged Washington to immediately halt all weapons sales to Taiwan.
October 15, 2020
SOURCE: DEFENSE NEWS