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WASHINGTON: The United States plans to sell up to seven major weapons systems, including mines, cruise missiles and drones, to Taiwan, said four people familiar with the discussions, as the Trump administration increases pressure on China.
Seeking seven sales at a time is a rare departure from years of precedent in which US military sales to the island were carefully spaced and calibrated to minimize tensions with Beijing.
But the Trump administration has become more aggressive toward China in 2020 and sales would land as relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in decades due to espionage allegations, a protracted trade war and disputes over the spread of the new coronavirus.
At the same time, Taiwan’s desire to buy weapons increased after President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected in January and has made strengthening Taiwan’s defenses a top priority.
Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue. Beijing says it is a Chinese province and has denounced the Trump administration’s support for the island.
Washington has been eager to create a military counterweight to Chinese forces, building on an effort known within the Pentagon as “Fortress of Taiwan,” as Beijing’s military makes increasingly aggressive moves in the region.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the reported package was a “media assumption” and that it handled the arms purchase talks and evaluations in a low-key and confidential manner, so it could not offer public comment until there was a notification. of any sale to Congress .
Taiwan’s military is well-trained and well-equipped with mostly American-made hardware, but China is hugely outnumbered and adding advanced equipment of its own.
Weapons packages from Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Atomics are making progress in the export process, said three people familiar with the status of the deals on Capitol Hill, and a notification to Congress is expected within weeks.
An industry source said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to brief President Donald Trump on the packages this week. Taiwan had requested some of the deals more than a year ago, but they are only now going through the approval process. A spokesman for the State Department declined to comment.
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A senior US official, citing Chinese assertiveness in the Taiwan Strait, said: “Today there is no balance. It is unbalanced. And I think that is dangerous.”
The Trump White House has made an effort to export weapons to US allies who are trying to beef up their defenses, lessen reliance on US troops, and at the same time boost American businesses and jobs.
As he fights for re-election on November 3, Trump and Republican supporters have stepped up their rhetoric against Beijing and sought to portray Democratic opponent Joe Biden as soft on China.
Other factors include Taiwan’s larger defense budget and fear in Taiwan that if Trump loses, Biden would be less willing to sell them America’s most advanced weapons.
Taiwan’s interest in American weapons and equipment is not new. The island is beefing up its defenses against what it sees as increasingly threatening moves by Beijing, such as the regular Chinese air force and naval exercises near Taiwan.
The senior US official said that increasing Taiwan’s defense spending was a good step, but that he needed to do more.
“Taiwan, frankly, needs to do more to ensure that they, indigenously, have the ability to deter Chinese aggression,” the official said.
OFFERS
Drones that can see beyond the horizon for surveillance and targeting, along with advanced missiles and coastal defenses including smart mines and anti-submarine capabilities to prevent invasion by sea, have been discussed at the highest level to make Taiwan more difficult to attack, like a “porcupine,” according to industry and congressional sources.
A high-mobility artillery rocket system made by Lockheed Martin (HIMARS), essentially a truck-based rocket launcher, is among the weapons Taiwan wants, people familiar with the negotiations said. Taiwan is also looking to buy sophisticated anti-tank missiles.
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In early August, Reuters reported that Washington is negotiating the sale of at least four of its large and sophisticated aerial drones to Taiwan for what could be about $ 600 million.
Boeing-made land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles that serve as coastal defense against cruise missiles are also under discussion.
Other systems include “underwater sea mines and other capabilities to deter amphibious landing or immediate attack,” Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States said in July.
