Wed 04 November 2020:
The United States has agreed to sell four armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Taiwan, the State Department announced Tuesday, helping to boost the island’s defenses as China steps up its threats.
The $600 million sale aids Taiwan’s “continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the State Department said.
It will also assist in maintaining political stability and the military balance in the region, the department said in a statement.
The $600 million deal would be the first such sale since U.S. policy on the export of sophisticated and closely guarded drone technology was loosened by the Trump administration.
Reuters reported in recent weeks on the administration moving ahead with four other sales of sophisticated military equipment to Taiwan, with a total value of around $5 billion, as it ramps up pressure on China and concerns rise about Beijing’s intentions toward the island.
The U.S. State Department’s formal notification gives Congress 30 days to object to any sales, which is unlikely given broad bipartisan support for the defense of Taiwan.
China angry
Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that it has vowed to bring under control, by force if necessary. Washington considers it an important democratic outpost and is required by law to provide it with the means to defend itself.
In response to the sales, China’s Ministry of National Defense said, “China strongly urges the U.S. side to immediately withdraw plans of arms sales to Taiwan, cease US-Taiwan military contacts and stop selling weapons to the island.”
Relations between Taiwan and China have plummeted to their worst levels in decades.
In 2016, Taiwan elected President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as an already sovereign state and not part of “one China”.
China cut off official communication and piled on economic, military and diplomatic pressure in response, although Tsai was reelected in a landslide in January.
The US military has used the unmanned Reapers, made by General Atomics, for long, high-altitude reconnaissance missions and pinpoint attacks and assassinations of jihadists in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
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