US Agrees to $330 Million Sale of Fighter Jets to Taiwan, Drawing Rebuke From China
The United States agreed a $330 million deal for the sale of fighter jets and other aircraft parts to Taiwan on Nov. 13 in the first such deal since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, prompting anger from China.
The announcement of the proposed arms deal
follows last month’s meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in a diplomatic bid to secure a trade deal amid the ongoing
tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.
Red Line
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory. Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters that the Chinese regime’s claim over Taiwan is at the core of China’s interests and is a red line that must not be crossed in China–U.S. relations.
He said the arms sale undermines Beijing’s sovereignty and security interests, sending what he called a “wrong signal” to Taiwan’s leaders.
The United States cut official ties with Taipei in 1979. While Washington has formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, its ties with Taiwan remain unofficial as the island nation maintains its own democratic government, military, and distinct way of life.
The United States is the main supplier of arms to the island nation and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
‘Cornerstone of Peace’
The Pentagon said in a statement that the proposed sale will improve Taiwan’s “capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient’s fleet of F-16, C-130,” and other aircraft.
“The deepening of the Taiwan-U.S. security partnership is an important cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement, noting the arms sale was the first announced by the current administration.
The statement thanked Washington for continuing its policy of regularized arms sales to Taiwan and supporting the island in enhancing its defense capabilities.
The deal, expected to take effect within a month, will help maintain the air force’s fighter readiness and bolster air defenses, strengthen resilience, and enhance the nation’s ability to respond to China’s “gray-zone” incursions, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.
Taiwan’s government strongly refutes Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
A U.S.-made F-16V fighter jet taxis on the runway at an air force base during Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drills in Hualien on July 23, 2024. Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images
Trump said in August that Xi told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader remains in office.
He made the comments in an
interview with Fox News, ahead of a planned talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Russia–Ukraine war.
“I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here,” Trump said of a potential invasion of the island nation.
“He told me, ‘I will never do it as long as you’re president,’” Trump said, regarding Xi.
“But he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient.’”
Trump said he told Xi, “Well, that’s up to you, but it better not happen now.”
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in March that China planned to pursue the “reunification” of Taiwan and would oppose external interference. The CCP has never ruled Taiwan.
Military Exercises
The CCP’s military stages regular exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, which the government in Taipei regards as a way of putting pressure on the island, while stopping short of actual combat.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly offered to have talks with China, but Beijing has refused, calling him a “separatist.”
The history between China and Taiwan is long and complex. The island nation, with an estimated population of around 23.9 million to China’s 1.4 billion, is known officially as the Republic of China, and most nations only recognize it unofficially.
Taiwan, which uses the official name the Republic of China (ROC) as shown on its citizens’ passports, is the last
territory of the republic that also ruled mainland China from 1911 to 1949.
After being defeated by the CCP in 1949 on the mainland, the ROC’s nationalist government, led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to the island of Taiwan, which was returned to China from Japanese occupation in 1945. The Republic of China has remained Taiwan’s official name since then. Meanwhile, the CCP established the communist regime, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the mainland in 1949.
Polling in Taiwan consistently shows that the vast majority favors the status quo, with younger people more in favor of declaring full independence from China. In a
poll from earlier this year, 82.5 percent of respondents rejected Beijing’s claim that “Taiwan is part of China’s territory.”
Reuters contributed to this report
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