US President Barack Obama has informed Congress that he will approve the sale of weapons to Taiwan.
The White House opened discussions about the arms sale last week in a series of secret talks on Capitol Hill. Those talks are continuing this week.
Congressional sources have told the Taipei Times that a public announcement detailing the weapons involved will be made soon — possibly before the end of this month.
The sale could cause a major rift in the China-US relationship, which Obama has been working very hard to develop. At the least, China is expected to cancel military-to-military direct communications. But the rift could widen and have an impact on other aspects of the relationship, including trade and climate control talks currently under way.
Earlier this month, White House sources said that an arms sales announcement was not expected before Obama makes his state of the union speech on national television.
Obama will deliver the speech before both houses of Congress tonight and may include an announcement of the arms package.
The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday evening that the arms package was likely to include UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and material related to Taiwan's defense communications network.
Congressional sources, speaking on the strict understanding that they would not be named, told the Taipei Times that, failing a last-minute change of heart, the advanced F-16C/D fighters that Taiwan has requested will not be part of the package.
The sources did not know if Taiwan's request for detailed plans to build diesel-powered submarines would be included, but there was no mention of such plans in the AP report.
Following news of the imminent package, US Congressman David Wu (吳振偉) told President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at his hotel in San Francisco on Monday night that he hoped to see Taiwan obtain F-16C/D fighter jets from Washington.
Ma stopped over in San Francisco on his way to visit allies in Latin America.
Ma said his administration would strive to acquire the weapons, but added that it would depend on Washington's attitude.
AP reported that the sale would satisfy parts of an US$11 billion arms package originally pledged by former US president George W. Bush in 2001.
“That package has been provided in stages because of political and budgetary considerations in Taiwan and the United States,” the AP report said.
Beijing has issued a number of warnings over the last few weeks about the expected arms sale and has made it clear that China's top leadership would be furious if Obama ignores its wishes and proceeds with the sale.
But there was never much doubt that some defensive weapons systems would be sold this year as provided for in the Taiwan Relations Act.
Obama met the Chinese leadership in Beijing in November and signaled that he wanted a much-improved relationship.
“Since then, tensions have spiked, with the United States criticizing Chinese Internet freedom and China worrying over a possible meeting next month between Obama and the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader China accuses of pushing for independence,” AP said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military