The White House is moving ahead with three sales of advanced weapons to Taiwan, sending a notification of the deals to Congress in recent days for approval, five sources said Monday, while China threatened to retaliate.
The move in the run-up to the November 3 US elections, first reported by Reuters, is likely to enrage China, which views Taiwan as a rogue province that has vowed to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary. .
Reuters broke the news in September that as many as seven major weapons systems were making their way into the U.S. export process as the Trump administration increased pressure on China.
Leaders of the Senate and House Foreign Relations committees were notified that three of the planned arms sales had been approved by the U.S. Department of State, which oversees military sales abroad, the officials said. sources, who are familiar with the situation but declined to be informed. identified.
The informal notifications were for a truck-based rocket launcher manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), long-range air-to-ground missiles manufactured by Boeing Co called SLAM-ER, and external sensor modules for F-16 jets that allow real-time transmission of images and data from the aircraft to the ground stations.
Notifications for the sale of other weapons systems, including large and sophisticated aerial drones, land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and underwater mines, to deter amphibious landings, have yet to reach the Capitol but were expected soon, sources said.
A spokesman for the State Department said: “As a matter of policy, the United States does not confirm or comment on the proposed defense sales or transfers until they are formally notified to Congress.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that US arms sales to Taiwan seriously damaged China’s sovereignty and security interests, urging Washington to clearly recognize the damage they caused and immediately cancel them.
“China will give a legitimate and necessary response according to how the situation develops,” Zhao told reporters in Beijing, without elaborating.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN
The Foreign Relations committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives have the right to review and block arms sales through an informal review process before the State Department sends its formal notification to the legislature.
Lawmakers, who are generally suspicious of what they perceive as Chinese aggression and support Taiwan, were not expected to oppose the Taiwan sales.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it would only comment when there is formal notification of any arms sales. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the government had not yet been formally notified.
“China continues to use military provocation to undermine regional and cross-strait stability, highlighting the importance of strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” Ou said.
News that new arms sales were advancing came after senior US officials reiterated last week calls for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and carry out military reforms to make clear to China the risks of attempt an invasion.
It comes at a time when China has significantly stepped up military activity near Taiwan and US-China relations have plummeted to the lowest point in decades as the US elections approach. President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, have tried to appear tough in their approach to Beijing.
Speaking on Wednesday, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien warned against any attempt to retake Taiwan by force, saying amphibious landings were notoriously difficult and there was a lot of ambiguity about how the United States would respond.
The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but has not made clear whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack, something that would likely lead to a much broader conflict with Beijing.
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