The US administration has approved the possible sale of aircraft parts and military repair components to Taiwan for a total of $330 million. This is the first arms sale to the island during Donald Trump's second term in the White House.
In a statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) detailed that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States requested the purchase of «non-standard components, spare parts, repair kits, consumables, and accessories» for F-16 fighter jets, C-130 transport aircraft, and for Taiwan's domestically-produced IDF fighter jet.
The operation is «consistent with US law and policy» and «serves the national, economic, and security interests» of the North American country «by supporting the beneficiary's ongoing efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a credible defense capability,» the DSCA stated.
«The proposed sale will help improve the beneficiary's security and contribute to maintaining political stability, the military balance, and economic progress in the region,» the statement said about this equipment, which will be transferred to Taiwan from US government stockpiles.
This is the first US arms sale to Taiwan since Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office and comes weeks after the meeting in South Korea between the Republican leader and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
At the meeting, where Taiwan was not mentioned, Trump reiterated that China will not intervene militarily on the island as long as he is in the White House.
«Xi said openly, and his people said openly in the meetings: 'We would never do anything while President Trump is president,' because they know the consequences,» he told CBS.
Beijing authorities consider Taiwan an «inalienable part» of Chinese territory and have not ruled out the use of force to achieve the «reunification» of the island and the mainland, one of Xi's long-term goals since coming to power in 2012.
For more than seven decades, the US has been caught in the middle of the disputes between the two parties, as Washington is the main supplier of arms to Taipei and, while it does not maintain diplomatic ties with the island, it could defend it in case of a conflict with Beijing. This stance has caused permanent friction between the US and China, whose government has defined the «Taiwan issue» as the «red line» in relations between the two powers.
