Trump Pushes Arms Sale to Taiwan as US-China Tensions Grow

The Trump administration pushed a massive seven billion dollar arms sale to Taiwan on September 17. The package would include several large weapons and missiles, some of which could allow for Taiwanese jets to target objects at long-range. 

This sale would be one of the largest transfers of weapons to Taiwan in recent years, indicative of the rapidly escalating tensions between the US and China. The Trump administration will informally announce the proposal to Congress within the coming weeks. 

The US has a longstanding commitment to Taiwan to provide the island with weapons for defensive purposes. Congress has bipartisan support for this program, so administration officials expect a prompt approval of the sale.

In the past, China has threatened to impose sanctions on US companies for conducting these arms sales. Most recently, China issued a warning to Lockheed Martin, an American company that helped the US government supply surface-to-air missiles to Taiwan in July. However, Georgetown University professor and former senior Asia director on Obama’s National Security Council Evan Medeiros believes that, at present, China aims to “preserve stability” in its relations with the US and will therefore hold off on following through with such threats. 

Medieros and other American officials see this as a positive move for Taiwan’s deterrence efforts against Chinese aggression. “Taiwan is finally buying what it really needs to implement its asymmetric defense strategy,” said Medieros.

Taiwan has become a center of controversy for the Chinese government. Since Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen defeated her more pro-China opponent, China has increased military activity around the island.

The Chinese government has not responded kindly to recent US intervention in Taiwan. FOr instance, Undersecretary of State Keith Krach visited Taiwan during the same week of the sale’s announcement and the Chinese government responded by sending two planes over the narrow strait separating Taiwan from the mainland.

Krach’s visit and the proposed Taiwanese arms sale reflect the Trump Administration’s effort to offset Chinese aggression in the region. The administration even imposed sanctions against a Chinese firm that funded a Chinese military base in Cambodia.

US relations with China have become a major campaign issue for the November presidential election. President Trump has sought to draw a contrast between his tough stance on China and that of Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden, going so far as to state that “if Biden wins... China wins.”