On 13th November, the United States gave the Taiwan government a sale of fighter jets along with parts of other airplanes worth 330 million dollars, and this was the first deal of a kind since President Donald Trump assumed office in January. The Taiwan government was grateful, but Beijing severely criticized the decision.
Washington is the biggest supplier of weapons to Taiwan and a major deterrent to a potential Chinese attack, but Trump and his previous statements on the island had raised doubts over his dedication to defend it.
China regards Taiwan as its own land and is threatening that it may employ force to further reduce the island under its control.
The Pentagon, in a statement, stated, “The proposed sale will enhance the ability of the recipient to respond to the present and future challenges by ensuring that the fleet of the recipient, F-16, C-130, and other planes, is operation-ready.”
Even though there is official diplomatic contact between the US and Beijing, it is still officially bound to maintain unofficial contacts with Taipei and has the legal duty to provide Taiwan with the tools to protect itself.
Receptive to the announcement, the initial arms package of the current administration, the presidential office of Taiwan, thanked Washington for continuing with the customised arms sales and assisting in enhancing the self-defence capacity and resilience of the island.
“The further development of the Taiwan-U.S. security relationship is a significant foundation of peace and stability within the Indo-Pacific region, the spokesperson of the presidential office,” Karen Kuo, said in a statement.
One month later, the Taiwan defence ministry announced that the sales would come into effect.
The delivery of the components will contribute to keeping the fighter ready in the air force and improve the air defence, enable the defence to be stronger, and improve the island’s capabilities to respond to incursions by China in its “grey zone,” the ministry opined.
The military of China conducts periodic exercises in the seas and skies of Taiwan, which the government in Taiwan calls gray-zone operations meant to exert covert pressure over the island, but never reaching the level of actual fighting.
China was furious, like it is every time the U.S sells Taiwan weapons.
The news of the potential sale of arms follows the meeting of Trump and Xi at the end of last month in South Korea, in a bid to reach a trade agreement. Prior to the meeting, Taipei had a fear that there might have been some form of selling out of Taiwan’s interests by Trump to Xi.
