The US is preparing to transfer weapons worth USD 500 million to Taiwan under the fast-track procedure used to provide military aid to Ukraine, the ag reported. Bloomberg, citing its sources.
According to them, USD 500 million worth of “weapons or support equipment” is expected to be distributed by order of US President Joe Biden from existing US stockpiles. What kind of equipment will be included in this package is not yet known, notes Bloomberg.
As the agency explains, the draft US defense budget for fiscal year 2023 (beginning on October 1), passed in December 2022, contains a provision that allows the president to provide up to $1 billion in military aid to Taiwan at his discretion. procedure allows the US administration to expedite the regime for transferring weapons from existing stockpiles to allies rather than contracting for their production.
Bloomber points out that this procedure has not been used to transfer arms to Taiwan before. At the same time, the US administration is “using it to accelerate the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.”
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. According to the official position of the PRC, supported by most countries, including Russia, the island is one of China’s provinces.
The US severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established them with the PRC. Proclaiming the “one China” policy, Washington at the same time continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei administration and supplies arms to the island. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait region have seriously escalated since then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 2-3, 2022.
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Assessment 1.9 from 9 voice.
2023-05-06 12:45:00
#striking #Taiwan
