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US approves potential $750 million weapons sales to Taiwan
The potential deal includes 40 self-propelled howitzer artillery systems and related equipment, and serves "US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the Defense Department said in a news release.
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This handout photograph taken and released on May 11, 2018 by Taiwan's Defence Ministry shows a Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft (left) flying alongside a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6K bomber that reportedly flew over the Bashi Channel, south of Taiwan, and over the Miyako Strait, near Japan's Okinawa Island, in a drill. China sent fighter jets and other military aircraft near Taiwan on May 11 in the latest of a series of drills which Beijing has said are aimed at the island's (AFP/Handout)
T
he US State Department has approved a possible $750 million weapons sale to Taiwan, the government said Wednesday, a move that could add tension to already strained US-China ties.
The potential deal includes 40 self-propelled howitzer artillery systems and related equipment, and serves "US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the Defense Department said in a news release.
The move follows a series of US arms sales to Taipei as China steps up its military and diplomatic pressure against the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing views as a renegade province awaiting reunification.
The former US administration of Donald Trump had notified Congress of 20 proposed major Foreign Military Sales cases for Taiwan, with a combined value of over $18 billion, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service issued in July.
Read also: US eyes possible trade deal with Taiwan: Blinken
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, which was passed by Congress in 1979 after the United States switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, Washington maintains substantive though unofficial relations with Taipei and supplies the island with arms and spare parts to enable it to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the latest proposed sale of the artillery system, which was notified to Congress on Wednesday, will help enhance Taiwan's "ability to meet current and future threats" while "further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies."
But it added that the supplies will "not alter the basic military balance in the region."
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry expressed appreciation for the US move, saying on Twitter that the decision demonstrates Washington's commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and allows the island to maintain a "rock-solid self-defense, and regional peace and stability."
