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Original title: The United States has promoted three arms sales to Taiwan in half a month. Experts: The real intention is to get votes.
[环球时报-环球网报道 记者 郭媛丹]The day before the US general election, the media revealed that the US plans to sell four advanced US-made drones to Taiwan. If the US State Department officially reports to Congress, this will be the third US arms sale to Taiwan in half a month. Experts told the Global Times on the 3rd that this year’s US elections are tough, and this does not rule out Trump’s pursuit of votes by allowing arms dealers to make a profit.
Reuters reported on day 2 that the plan to sell four US-made advanced drones to Taiwan cleared a major hurdle in Congress and has entered the final stage of awaiting approval. One of the sources said that the US State Department could formally notify Congress later this week. This $ 600 million transaction is the first arms sale of its kind after the Trump administration relaxed its policy on the export of highly confidential and advanced drone technology. The four drones are MQ-9 “Sea Guards” manufactured by General Atomic Energy, and the sales plan will also include relevant ground stations and training. Although this drone can reportedly carry weapons, all four drones will only be equipped with reconnaissance gear.
Yan Defa, the head of Taiwan’s defense department, said on the 3rd that this is the first time the United States has offered this weapon for sale to an “alliance.” You have not received a formal notification yet. After notification, it will be compiled into the subsequent annual budget and sent to the “Legislative Yuan” for review. He also thanked the United States for its “contribution to regional peace.” According to Taiwanese media reports, Taiwan has proposed a total of 8 exits this time.
Previously, on October 21 and 26, the US administration notified Congress within a week to approve two arms sales to Taiwan in total. These four arms sales totaled more than $ 4.1 billion. With the financing of four drones, total US arms sales to Taiwan in half a month amounted to US $ 4.7 billion.
The media predicts that the results of the United States general election will be announced at the earliest at noon Q4 in Beijing. What is the purpose of the frequent US arms sales before the general election? Professor Zhu Songling, director and professor of the Institute for Cross-Strait Relations at Beijing Union University, told the Global Times reporter on Wednesday that Trump’s continued election was not a good one this year. frequently selling arms to Taiwan before elections. , Allowing some large companies to “match their interests.” The Trump administration reportedly originally wanted to package and sell seven major weapons systems to Taiwan, on the one hand because the volume of transactions was relatively high, which exceeded Taiwan’s budget; on the other hand, he was concerned that a large-scale arms sales plan would lead to the mainland. Fierce countermeasures, so the project was sold to Taiwan in batches.
Zhu Songling further explained: “The main factor in the sale of arms to Taiwan is that the US presidential elections this year are very complicated, especially the increasingly serious social antagonism, to the point that fire and water are incompatible. . To get votes, Trump has resorted to selling arms to Taiwan. The rise of power is to gather votes, regardless of whether Trump is elected or not, arms dealers can make profit. In addition, Trump’s measure is also a clear statement to American voters that you are implementing a policy to contain China in order to “ keep the United States strong. ” Maintain U.S. hegemony. That approach is expected, but the American approach is too crazy “.
The United States plans to sell up to seven major weapons systems, including mines, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, to Taiwan. Five of them have been released. Are the remaining two also in process? Zhu Songling believes that it can be very large, because the interests of related companies are involved. This year, American arms dealers have been affected by the epidemic and their efficiency has declined significantly. Therefore, these companies have adopted methods such as accelerating the production of weapons and equipment and emptying the inventory to turn losses into profits.
In response to Yan Defa’s statement that “this is the first time the United States has offered to sell to a partner country,” Zhu Songling said this is wrong. The head of the defense department of the Taiwanese authorities is too affectionate. Taiwan is not at all what the United States calls an “ally.” It is not a political entity recognized by the United States, but a region.
Some experts believe that the biggest factor of instability in the Taiwan Strait problem now comes from the United States. The United States wants to contain mainland China in its own interest, and must now use Taiwan as the last “ace” to pressure mainland China. This time it is a very severe test for both sides of the strait. If the Taiwanese authorities cannot bear it and cross the red line, it is very possible that both sides of the strait “take down the guns and shoot.”
Zhu Songling also believes that there is a possibility to “shoot and shoot” across the Strait, but it can be controlled. “The most feared is that the situation is difficult to control after the cleaning of the weapon, especially public opinion is difficult to control, and it is impossible to curb the accidental results caused by cleaning the weapon, leading to an increase additional to the crisis in the Taiwan Strait. In this case, the risk will turn into a crisis and the crisis will turn into a conflict. The possibility will be great. “
Zhu Songling believes that China and the United States have always been handling the crisis, and China has always provided opportunities for peace to Taiwan. As long as there is a chance for peace, the mainland will not give up peaceful means to solve the Taiwan problem. However, the Taiwanese side continues to provoke cross-strait relations, blindly turning to military independence and the United States to resist land. Furthermore, the United States does not have a fund to “grab China’s neck.”
