The United States will offer 345 million euros in military aid to Taiwan, announced US President Joe Biden on Friday evening July 28. By this decision, the White House takes the risk of triggering the ire of China. The nature of the aid was not specified, the statement from Washington merely mentioning “defense equipment” and “military training”.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity, however, spoke earlier on Friday about surveillance and reconnaissance systems, ammunition and other miscellaneous spare parts and equipment. Beijing considers Taiwan as part of its territory and protests almost systematically at each announcement of military aid to the island.
The United States has been selling weapons to Taiwan for years, but the new aid will come directly from existing American stockpiles, similar to what has been done for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. The leader of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin had indicated in mid-May that such aid to Taiwan from American stocks was under consideration.
According to a law passed by the American Congress, it is authorized to draw up to a billion dollars in the stocks of the United States to equip the autonomous island, with the stated aim of dissuading China from any expansionist desire.
The announcement by the White House comes amid renewed dialogue between the United States and China, after a succession of visits by senior American officials to Beijing, including the head of diplomacy Antony Blinken and, more recently, the secretary Treasury Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry.
It also comes as the Secretary of Defense and Mr Blinken are both in Australia for meetings on Saturday with their respective counterparts and where China’s activities are expected to feature prominently in the discussions. During Mr. Blinken’s visit to Beijing in mid-June, the two parties stuck to their positions on Taiwan, while hoping to maintain communication in order to prevent tensions from degenerating into armed confrontation.
Beijing sees Taiwan, an island of 23 million, as a province it has yet to reunite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. China, which says it favors a peaceful reunification with Taiwan, however, does not exclude the use of force to achieve this.
Last April, China held three days of military exercises simulating a blockade of the island in response to the meeting between Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.
