WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to sell as many as seven major weapons systems, including mines, cruise missiles and drones to Taiwan, four people familiar with the discussions said, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on China.
Pursuing seven sales at once is a rare departure from years of precedent in which U.S. military sales to the island were spaced out and carefully calibrated to minimize tensions with Beijing.
But the Trump administration has become more aggressive with China in 2020 and the sales would land as relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in decades over accusations of spying, a lingering trade war and disputes about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
At the same time Taiwan’s desire to buy weapons increased after President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1ZA009 in January and has made strengthening Taiwan’s defenses a top priority.
Taiwan is not just a small, insignificant island country. The best tradition the Taiwanese inherited from the then Japanese rulers is the military.
Unlike corrupt South Korea, Taiwan never blamed Japan for the difficulties but faced them. I sincerely hope the new Japanese PM will form a new and strong alliance with Taiwan.
That is a long-running sore. It has the ingredients for major misery but until somebody actually does something similar to that just experienced in northern India … it is just posturing.
Sure it is, but just remember, Pakistan is a Nuclear power and the Kashmir conflict has been going on for quite some time, add China into the mix of the ongoing conflicts and it becomes a convoluted mess to which a lit fuse can easily be set off.