Washington is about to resume military sales to Taiwan worth billions of dollars!
According to South China Morning Post report on August 5th, US Republican Congressman Michael McCaul revealed on Tuesday that President Trump is expected to submit a military sales plan worth $14 billion to Congress soon.
This congressman from Texas said during a security forum while attending a question-and-answer session regarding Taiwan: “I believe that the President will soon submit another proposal to Congress, which includes important military defense equipment valued at an additional $14 billion.”
Although observers suspect that this military sale agreement may not be approved before September, they warn that the Taiwan issue is an unbridgeable red line. Any plan for military sales to Taiwan could undermine the Sino-US bilateral talks.
This military sale proposal is still under review by the Trump administration. In May of this year, Trump described it as a “very good bargaining chip” for negotiations with Beijing.
In the same month, the US Deputy Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, stated that military sales to Taiwan worth $14 billion were temporarily suspended in order to ensure that the U.S. military had sufficient weapons for use in conflicts with Iran. McCall, on the other hand, made false claims that U.S. policy would not allow foreign relations with Beijing to “restrict military sales to Taiwan”.
This military sale will exceed a record military deal with Taiwan approved at the end of last year. That deal was strongly condemned by Beijing, and China subsequently conducted two-day military exercises near Taiwan.
McCale shouted, “In December last year, Congress approved the largest military sales program in American history, worth $11 billion—and we won’t stop there.”
Fudan University's Institute of International Issues Director Wu Xinbo stated that the intention behind McCaul's remarks is mainly due to domestic political considerations in the United States.
He said that re-emphasizing the issue of military sales to Taiwan reflects the pressure from anti-China hawks within Congress and the government. These people believe that Trump is deeply involved in the Iran issue, and growing dissatisfaction within the Republican Party could jeopardize the upcoming mid-term elections.
Wu Xinfu said: 'For the Trump administration, it is currently facing both internal and external difficulties. Therefore, in order to stabilize the situation within the Republican Party, especially to gain support from the hawkish faction in China, it may be necessary to play the 'Taiwan card'.'
Hong Kong University "Contemporary China and World Research Centre" Senior Researcher Zhang Chī said that McKellar's visit was intended to simultaneously probe the winds in Beijing and Taipei.
Zhang Chi said that considering McCaul's close relationship with Taiwan, it is 'not surprising' that he made those remarks. However, his wording showed 'clear caution and diplomatic tact', and did not signal any immediate actions or concrete results.
Zhang Chi said: 'All this highlights a core issue: when Trump attempts to establish a 'constructive strategic stability' in Sino-US relations, how will he handle the Taiwan issue? Trump did learn some important lessons regarding the Taiwan issue in the early stages... But whether he truly understands this issue remains questionable.'
International Crisis Group (ICG) Northeast Asia senior analyst William Yang stated: "If the Trump administration believes they can leverage arms sales to Taiwan to put pressure on Beijing, they may be misjudging the situation. In Beijing's view, there is no negotiation space on the Taiwan issue."
Zhang Chi emphasized that if the hard-won improvement trend is once again disrupted, there will be no guarantee that Sino-US relations can remain at the current level.
