US to sell USD 6 billion of weapons to Taiwan

[GoFlyKiteNow]

US to sell missiles, ships, helicopters to Taiwan: Pentagon

WASHINGTON:

The Pentagon on Friday unveiled plans to sell more than six billion dollars in arms to Taiwan, including missiles and helicopters.

Amid speculation Washington was preparing to act on Taiwan's request for weapons, China had warned Washington against more arms sales to the island.

The arms package includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet but no new fighter aircraft that had been part of Taipei's wish list, according to the Defense Cooperation Security Agency.

Under the proposed sale, Taiwan would receive 114 Patriot missiles -- worth 2.81 billion dollars -- and 60 Black Hawk helicopters -- worth 3.1 billion dollars, as well as Harpoon missiles and mine-hunting ships, the agency said in a statement.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou, despite warming ties with Beijing, has appealed to the United States for weapons, saying the island must stay on guard in light of the mainland's sharp rise in military spending.

Washington is the leading arms supplier to self-ruled Taiwan, despite switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.

China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949. Beijing still views the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with weapons of a defensive nature, under the Taiwan Relations Act.

 

[longbow]

Good $$ for US defense industry. However as Taiwan's mfg hollows out and continues to get shipped over to China the US is in no position to compete with the mainland.

Notice that US sells weapons not give. Unlike Israel where US gives $$ taiwan has to buy it. Give it another 4 years and US will be in no position to confront the Chinese in this region. They have other more important political interest.

There is also a good chance that Chinese intelligence will have a field day on looks at this military hardware.

As USSR has shown, behind a superior military machine is a strong economy.

In another post there is mention that Russian gen 5 fighter is ready. Problem is that Russian may have the aviation engineers (the ones designing aircraft in the 70s are still around although they are getting there in age) but they do not have the mfg base. To build a superior aircraft you need the whole supply chain with quality testing. Doubt if the Sukhoi is going to be reliable.

In mfg if you do not have the quality you compensate by increasing spec of material - ends up weighing, costing and more inefficient in performance

 

[singveld]

good for amercian economic
good for taiwan
because they have a lot of useless US dollars, which they cannot use it and soon be worth less.
better to convert them to usable weapons to take out the china man.

NUKES will be best.

 

[GoFlyKiteNow]

good for amercian economic
good for taiwan
because they have a lot of useless US dollars, which they cannot use it and soon be worth less.
better to convert them to usable weapons to take out the china man.

NUKES will be best.

Perhaps the sale of weapons to Taiwan by USA may have to be read in this context ?

RE-EXAMINATION:
An academic at the Heritage Foundation says the US is studying the longstanding policy with an eye to debunking the myth that Taiwan is part of China.
By Charles Snyder
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

The US administration is already conducting a secret review of its "one China" policy, although the review is fairly narrow and technical and will not necessarily result in a decision to support Taiwan's independence, a leading Washington Taiwan specialist says.

John Tkacik, an academic at the Heritage Foundation, told the Taipei Times that the review aims to debunk the myth that Taiwan is part of China and to clarify just what a "one China" policy means.

He was commenting on a report issued in Washington on Tuesday by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which recommended that the administration and Congress "conduct a fresh assessment of the `one China' policy, given the changing realities in China and Taiwan."

"I think the State Department is already reviewing the `one China' policy," Tkacik said.

 

[longbow]

Heritage is extreme right wing of republican party.

US can talk all they like but what can they do? Money is short, 200K troops in war zone for coming to 10 years. They are in no position to tackle the Chinese. With its economy on a precipice, any tension could sink the US economy into a deeper recession.

Hezbollah only has support from Syria ( a weak 3rd world nation) and Israel have big problems. It would not be in US interest to be at loggerheads with the chinese. After all Afghanistan has a common border with China and a free flow of armaments could turn Afghan into blood bath. A nod from the Chinese and Pakistan military with its Taliban sympathizers could very well swing the way to the Chinese.

In this day it is tough to engage full out war. So big nations use surrogates. The danger for India is not Beijing sending 100K troops across the border. The danger is if Beijing backs Islamic right wing within Pakistan who then go stir shit with the 15 to 20% of india who are muslim.

The enusing chaos would create a huge problem in India. You know how relgious war starts. You bomb my temple and hang a cows head and BJP followers will retaliate with a pigs head in a mosque. Beijing does not want to do that because a prosperous India is good for Chinese exports (India exports raw materials to China and in return it imports value added manufactered goods!!). Also by backing Islamic right wing they are stepping on US toes (who knows Beijing might have a tacit 4 eye agreement with the Americans that they do not stir the pot in return that US does not stir Taiwan issue - I note total silence from Beijing when US starts having military JV to weed out Talibans).

In a way it is a game of chess. As the Chinese have increased their influence they have picked up more and more pieces in the game.


I forsee a situation where US citizens are so sick of a neverending war and pulls their military back from Europe and reduce their numbers drastically in Asia. Maybe focus on Middle East where the ISrael lobby is powerful in congress and no need to talk about importance of energy from that parts too.

US knows that so they are trying to build up alliance with indians to counter the Chinese but their problem is that they also need Pakistan in their war on terror so no love fest with India. Pakistan is more strategic to US then India at the moment. Pakistan knows that too. As long as there are Talibans, US must come hat in hand so take you time in weeding them out.

As for Taiwan, all this weapons purchase is for appeasement of certain factions within taiwan. And it also means millions in undertable money for taiwanese politicians.

In reality, both sides are Chinese, they have relations, same religion, same sirnames, come from the same village, have their ancestors buried in China, speak the same dialect and most important of all - China means huge $$$ for the Taiwanese businessmen. So why in the world would the businessmen. (BTW tiny Taiwan has more than half the GDP of India!!! with a pop of 23M) that control the politicians want to create a situation that will destroy their billions in investments.

Why would they want situation where Beiing blast their multi million dollar penthouse in taipei to bits and Taiwan then retun fire and blast their factories in China to bits.

That is why I say the US had better be careful about weapons they sell, does not take much for Chinese intelligence to gain a good look see at it.

 

[Sideswipe]

China challenge to US as a world superpower would not have happened if the US govt answered Chiang Kai Shek plea in early 1949, send their bombers to China to secure a blockage across the Yangtze, stopping the communists from crossing south to take Nanjing. China would be split into Communists North China and Nationalists South China till now.

If Americans had the "hindsight" back then, Korean and Vietnam war would not have happened. They can play around North China against South China till today.