Taiwan, US $11.1 billion mega-arms order
The package is the largest ever approved by Washington for the island and is bound to increase tensions with Beijing
From our correspondent
NEW DELHI - In a move that promptly provoked China's irritation, the US State Department on Wednesday night announced its green light to sell more than $11.1 billion worth of arms to Taiwan. The second order approved by the Trump administration in a few months is the largest ever between the two countries and comes at a time of heightened tensions not only between Beijing and Taipei, but also between Beijing and Tokyo, after the Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi took a stance on Chinese threats against the island's government last November.
The weapons included in the package
Ina statement from Taiwan's Ministry of Defence reads that the package consists of eight deals covering 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems (or Himars) and 420 tactical missile systems (Army tactical missile systems, or Atacms) similar to those supplied by the US to Ukraine to defend against Russia, worth more than USD 4 billion. The second large order is for 60 self-propelled howitzers for another USD 4 billion. The second large order is for 60 self-propelled howitzers
Also included in the package are contracts to supply Altius drones valued at more than $1 billion, military software worth more than $1 billion, Javelin and Tow missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million, and modernisation kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million. "The United States," the Taipei government explained, "continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining those self-defence and deterrence capabilities that underpin regional peacekeeping and stability.
This reading is diametrically opposed to that of the Chinese government, which yesterday, through a Foreign Ministry spokesman, called on the United States to take a step back from what it described as "a serious violation" of the principle cherished by Beijing that there is only one China, with the aggravating factor of damaging peace and stability in the region. The strategy of "using Taiwan to contain China is absolutely doomed to failure," the spokesman said.
