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The United States has approved a $ 330 million arms sale to Taiwan, a new sign of Washington's support for the Taipei government, as Chinese pressure on the island grows stronger.
The proposed agreement, which covers parts for F-16, C-130, F-5, Indigenous Defense Fighter and other aeronautical systems, also fits in a context of increasing tensions between the United States and China.
The sale will contribute to US national security by strengthening Taiwan's defensive capabilities, said the Pentagon's security cooperation agency in a statement, adding that Taiwan "continues to play an important role in political stability, the balance
The arms deal marks the last sign of warming relations between Taipei and Washington. The two men have no formal diplomatic ties but maintain close economic and security ties despite opposition from Beijing, which says Taiwan is part of China and has stepped up its military activities near Taiwan-controlled territory.
A spokesman for the presidential office in Taipei said US support would boost Taiwanese confidence in "serious" security problems.
The sale would be the second US arms deal with Taiwan since Donald Trump took office after signing a $ 1.4 billion deal in June 2017 that has angered Beijing.
The most recent agreement "has moved faster than others in the past," but did not represent "a significant increase in Taiwanese capacity," said Taiwan-based Taiwan analyst and Washington researcher Lauren Dickey. College of London.
The agreement was also a sign that "US arms sales to Taiwan are finally returning to normal," said Ian Easton, researcher at Project 2049 Institute, an American think tank on safety, and author of 39, a book on the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
US law provides for the sale of weapons in Taiwan, but in the last years of George W. Bush's presidency, annual sales were suppressed for a process of consolidating Taiwan's arms applications every two or three years .
Critics said the multi-year breaks in arms sales were an acquiescence in Chinese opposition. Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, and Randall Schriver, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Affairs in Asia and the Pacific, were among those who criticized the Obama administration for delaying sales d & # 39; weapons.
However, officials in Taipei and people familiar with the problem in Washington believe that the Trump administration will likely return to arms sales in Taiwan.
