Arms sale to Taiwan will cost US dear, says China

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117389&sectionid=351020404

China has threatened the US with "serious" consequences over a Washington decision to sell USD 6.4 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan.

The arms package includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet. However, it does not include the fighter jet itself, which had been part of Taipei's wish list, AFP reported on Friday.

After US announced the arms sale to Taiwan, Beijing quickly responded with a warning that the arms sale could jeopardize important bonds of cooperation between the two countries and can have "serious" consequences.

"The US plan will definitely undermine China-US relations and bring about serious negative impact on exchange and cooperation in major areas between the two countries," a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Wang Baodong said.

Baodong urged the United States to halt the planned sales, saying that otherwise "this will lead to repercussions that neither side wishes to see."

The last US arms package for Taiwan, announced under previous president George W. Bush in October 2008, led China to temporarily snap off military relations with the United States.
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2010 Jan 26

US approves Taiwan arms sale



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/201012653823775265.html

The Obama administration has reportedly approved a multi-billion dollar arms package for Taiwan, in a move that threatens to test relations between Washington and Beijing.

The Associated Press quoting senior US congressional aides said on Monday that the package will likely include Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot missiles and communications equipment.

According to the report, the White House has been consulting with Congress about Taiwan's defence needs ahead of a formal announcement of the sale at a yet undetermined date.

However, the package will reportedly exclude F-16 fighter jets that Taiwan has sought to buy in order to modernize its air force, with aides saying it would be "too provocative" to the Chinese.

A Taiwan diplomatic source was quoted in The Washington Times as saying the F-16s were needed to replace ageing warplanes.

The new deal is part of an $11bn arms package first offered in 2001 under George Bush, the former US president, and which has been provided in stages because of political and budgetary considerations in Taiwan and the United States.

The US awarded a contract worth nearly $970m to Lockheed Martin for the provision of air defence missiles and another worth over $1bn to Raytheon Co for the production of patriot missiles for Taiwan, according to a New York Times report earlier this month.

Renegade province

The latest sale had been widely expected, with Beijing warning of an impact on ties with Washington and reiterating earlier this month its objection to any deal.

China announced on January 12 the successful test of its interceptor missile as part of its advanced air defence capabilities, a move experts say was an indirect reaction to the weapons sale.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has vowed to bring the island eventually back under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

The US government, on the other hand, is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act which obliges Washington to ensure the island is capable of responding to Chinese threats, and to sell defensive weapons to it.

In a report to Congress last year the Pentagon said China's military build-up includes development of new advanced ballistic and cruise missiles that would be used against US forces if they were to defend Taiwan against attacks from the mainland.

In 2008, China suspended most military dialogue with Washington after the Bush administration approved a $6.5bn arms package to Taiwan that included guided missiles and attack helicopters.