US President Joe Biden has authorized military aid to Taiwan worth $345 million, the White House announced on Friday July 28, at the risk of angering Beijing.
No details were immediately available on the nature of the aid provided, with the White House referring in a terse statement to “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 US has been selling weapons to Taiwan for years, but new aid will come directly from existing US stockpiles, much like it has done for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had indicated in mid-May that such aid to Taiwan from US stockpiles was under consideration.
Deter China
According to a law passed by the American Congress, it is authorized to draw up to 1 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 White House announcement 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 of the 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 views 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 peaceful reunification with Taiwan, does not, however, rule out 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.