China has accused the U.S. of undermining their relationship after the State Department approved another round of military equipment for Taiwan.
The planned sale of a tactical communications system drew a swift rebuke from the Chinese foreign ministry, which pledged "strong and resolute measures" to protect its territory.
The Chinese Communist Party government in Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its territory, despite never having ruled there. China has vowed to someday annex Taiwan, by force if necessary, and has sharply increased its military activity around the island. Taipei is doubling down on national security, including by modernizing its tank and fighter jet fleets and launching a domestic submarine program.
The military purchase green-lit on Thursday is the 13th under President Joe Biden's administration and the first since Taiwan's national elections last month. The package, estimated to cost $75 million, includes the Link 16 data link system and other logistic support.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense with a written request for comment.
Common among the militaries of NATO members, the digital radio-based, jam-resistant Link 16 enables ground and air platforms to share positions and views to get a broader perspective of the battlefield.
"The U.S. arms sales to China's Taiwan region seriously violate the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, especially the August 17 (third) communique of 1982," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference Thursday.
"China will take strong and resolute measures to firmly defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said.
The three communiques were joint-statements made as the U.S. and China normalized relations in the late 1970s and early 80s. In the third communique, the U.S. said it intended to gradually draw down its arms sales to Taiwan.
However then-President Ronald Reagan said the U.S. had made it clear in bilateral discussions this would depend on the perceived threat to Taiwan from China. Though Washington had switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act obligates the U.S. to provide the island with defensive weapons.
"We appreciate the U.S. provides us with the means to enhance our ability to meet current and future threats in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances," Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, citing another cornerstone of the U.S.' Taiwan policy.
The U.S.' "Six Assurances," made to Taiwan after the third joint communique to China, are part of the framework of Washington-Taipei relations and include a pledge not to announce an end date for weapon sales.
Amid China's threats, military exercises, and near-daily warplane sorties across the mid-line of the 100-mile Taiwan Strait, Taipei is taking steps to shore up its defenses. The government raised its defense budget for this year to 2.5 percent of its GDP and extended compulsory military service from four months to a year for new recruits.
Taiwan expects to take possession of its first tranche of the 108 Abrams tanks approved for sale in 2019. It is also waiting for 66 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, to be delivered in batches by the end of 2026.
These big-ticket items are part of $19 billion in undelivered arms sales that Congressman Mike Gallagher, currently leading a delegation to Taiwan, called a "backlog."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
