US President Joe Biden authorized $345 million in military aid to Taiwan, the White House announced Friday evening, in a move that would anger Beijing.
No details were immediately available on the nature of the assistance provided. In a brief statement, the White House spoke of “defense equipment” and “military training”.
A US official, who asked not to be named, spoke earlier Friday about surveillance and reconnaissance systems, ammunition, spare parts and other equipment.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and systematically protests any announcement of any military aid to the island.
The United States has been selling weapons to Taiwan for years, but the new aid will come directly from the stocks in Washington, in the same way that has been adopted with Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion of its lands in February 2022.
A Pentagon spokesman said that this assistance would allow Taiwan to “strengthen its deterrence capacity, now and in the future,” especially in terms of “defense (weapons) stocks” as well as “anti-armor and anti-aircraft defense capabilities.”
And US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin indicated in mid-May that providing such assistance to Taiwan from US stocks was under study. According to a law passed by the US Congress, the withdrawal of up to $1 billion from US stocks is allowed to arm the autonomous island, with the stated aim of curbing any expansionist desire of China.
This White House announcement comes in the midst of the resumption of dialogue between the United States and China, after a series of visits to Beijing by senior US officials, including Secretary of State and Treasury Anthony Blinken and Janet Yellen and Special Envoy for Climate Affairs John Kerry.
The announcement also comes as the defense secretary and Blinken hold Saturday meetings in Australia with their counterparts, where China’s activities are expected to be present during the discussions.
During Blinken’s visit to Beijing in mid-June, the two sides stuck to their positions on Taiwan, but they hoped to remain in contact to prevent the tension from turning into an armed confrontation.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry thanked Washington for its “strong commitment to Taiwan’s security.” Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said the move was “another important support” for Taiwan.
“Taiwan and the United States will continue to cooperate closely on safety issues so as to maintain peace, stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
Beijing considers Taiwan, the island of 23 million people, a province it has not yet been able to annex since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
China says it prefers the peaceful re-incorporation of Taiwan, but it also does not rule out the use of force to achieve this.
This past April, China conducted a three-day military exercise simulating a blockade of the island, in response to a meeting in California between Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
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2023-07-29 06:40:17
