WASHINGTON
On 28 July 2023, the US announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan. This is said to be the Biden administration’s first significant package drawing on America’s stockpiles in order to help Taiwan stand against China.
As per the White House’s announcement, the package would include education, defence and training for the Taiwanese forces. Washington is set to send man-portable air defence systems, or MANPADS, firearms and missiles, intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
US lawmakers have been urging the Pentagon and White House to rush weapons to Taiwan. The Biden Administration is aiming to help Taiwan counter China and to prevent Chinese forces from considering attacking, by delivering Taipei enough weaponry that it would make the cost of invasion too high.
The Chinese diplomats objected to the move, however, Taiwan’s trade office in Washington said the US declaration to supply arms and other materials from its stores gave Taiwan “an important tool to support Taiwan’s self-defence.” Taiwan’s trade office has promised to work with the United States to preserve “peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said in a statement Friday that Beijing was “firmly opposed” to US military ties with Taiwan. The US should “stop selling arms to Taiwan” and “stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” Liu said.
On 29 July 2023, Taiwan’s Ministry of National DefenCe also expressed its gratefulness in a statement that thanked the US for its consistent commitment to Taiwan’s security.
The package comes in addition to nearly $19 billion in military sales of major weapons systems that the US has approved to supply in Taiwan. However, the delivery of those weapons has been obstructed by supply chain issues that started during the coronavirus pandemic and have been intensified by the global defence industrial base pressures that emerged from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This military aid is part of a presidential authority that was approved by Congress last year to supply weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles, so Taiwan does not have to wait for military production and sales. This will help in getting the weapons delivered is a faster pace than providing funding for the production of new weapons.
Earlier, a similar authority to supply billions of dollars of weapons and machinery to Ukraine was used by the Pentagon.
Taiwan split itself from China in 1949 after a civil war broke out in the nation. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping is still determined to take over the now self-ruled island, by force if required.