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The United States has approved a $ 330 million arms deal with China's neighbor Taiwan, aimed at bolstering tensions between Beijing and Washington during the growing trade war, the South China Morning Post reported.
The news comes as China said Tuesday it was impossible to hold trade talks with the United States while Washington's tariffs are "a knife" for China, following a new $ 200 billion tax and to US President Donald Trump. billion more.
The proposed arms agreement, announced Tuesday by the Pentagon and to be presented to the US Congress, will include parts for the F16 and F5 fighter planes, the C130 cargo planes, the Indigenous Defense Fighter's Taiwan and other aeronautical systems.
The sale will contribute to the "foreign policy and national security of the United States," said the Pentagon's Security Cooperation Agency, adding that Taiwan "continues to play an important role in political stability, balancing military and economic progress in the region ".
Taiwan welcomed the decision and said the agreement helps the independent nation off China to strengthen its defenses and meet the challenges of Beijing. A spokesman for Taiwan's presidency said it would boost confidence in "serious" security problems, adding that "we very much appreciate the US government taking note of Taiwan's national security."
China regards Taiwan as its sovereign territory and as a separatist province that must be unified with the continent by force if necessary. China has already warned the United States not to sell arms to the country or to establish close military ties, the South China Morning Post reported.
The sale, which has not yet been finalized, is the second under Trump following a sale of $ 1.4 billion in June 2017 which also aroused the wrath of Beijing.
Critics of the Washington deal said he was complying with the Chinese opposition's wishes, including US Defense Secretary Mike Pompeo, who criticized the Obama administration for delaying arms sales. the region.
Officials in Taipei and Washington say it is now likely that the Trump administration will resume its regular arms sales to Taiwan, the Financial Times reported.
The escalation of tensions can be explained by China's rejection of the invitation to official talks in Washington with Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, who said: "Now that the United States has adopted this kind of commercial restrictions to someone's throat. In these circumstances, how can the negotiations take place? "
