Congressional aides say the Obama administration is planning its first arms sale to Taiwan in four years.
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Under the deal, the USA will sell to Taiwan two Perry-class guided-missile frigates, anti-tank missiles, AAV-7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, Stinger surface-to-air missiles and other military equipment.
David McKeeby, a spokesman for the US State Department, said the package was aimed at “supporting Taiwan’s efforts to develop more innovative and asymmetric defensive capabilities”.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang told the US diplomat that the arms sale harms China’s security interests and that sanctions would be imposed against the USA companies involved, according to a statement on the foreign ministry’s website.
The last major arms sale to Taiwan was in 2011 and included more than $5 billion in upgrade kits for Taiwan’s aging fleet of F-16 fighters.
Past US weapons sales to Taiwan have attracted strong condemnation in China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.
The Chinese government, which has long known about the sale since it was approved more than a year ago, has consistently voiced concerns about Taiwan’s purchase of USA arms.
Kirby said Washington wanted to work to establish a “better, more transparent more effective relationship” with China in the region and had been in contact with both Taiwan and China on this on Wednesday.
In the meantime, President Barack Obama has sought greater cooperation with China on issues such as climate change, and the two sides have increased military exchanges to reduce the risk of conflict. “These sales, coupled with vigorous military-to-military exchanges between the USA and Taiwan, are essential to sustaining the military balance in the Asia-Pacific and upholding regional stability”. But at the same time, relations have been roiled by China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea and allegations of Chinese cybertheft.
The timing of the sale seemed carefully calibrated to minimize friction with Beijing, analysts said, coming several weeks ahead of elections in Taiwan that are expected to be won by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which is far ahead in the polls.
“China staunchly opposes America’s sale of arms to Taiwan”, a statement from the country’s foreign affairs ministry said, as United States charge d’affaires Kaye Lee was called in for a dressing down.
China’s opposition to the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan has been “steady, clear and consistent”, because such move interferes in China’s domestic affairs and harms not only the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations but also the China-U.S. relations.
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Relations between Beijing and Taipei have warmed under current Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.
