Joe Biden found a new way to cheese off Xi Jinping, by approving “the first-ever transfer of U.S. military equipment to Taiwan under a program typically saved for sovereign nations.” The problem with that is the island is a territory of China, they aren’t “sovereign.”
Arm Taiwan anyway
Joe Biden’s handlers really don’t care what the law actually says, they’re going to arm Taiwan anyway. They notified Congress about it on Tuesday, August 29.
The $80 million package of weapons “is part of the State Department’s foreign military financing program.” It won’t be the Taiwanese military paying for them, The U.S. taxpayers will be footing the bill.
According to the notice, “FMF will be used to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities through joint and combined defense capability and enhanced maritime domain awareness and maritime security capability.”
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has approved a military transfer to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing, or FMF, program normally used for sovereign states, according to a notification sent to… pic.twitter.com/okZhZJFNfD— Isabel Santos ???????????????????????? (@Busyisaworkshop) August 31, 2023
They act like calling Taiwan “sovereign” doesn’t affect the “One China” policy, simply because they say so, even though it appears to be a direct contradiction of it. The State Department confirms it would be a “first-ever” transfer.
“Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and our longstanding one China policy, which has not changed,” they insist, we’re handing the territory “articles and services necessary to enable it to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.”
They’re giving them the opportunity to defend themselves from China. That would be like China arming Puerto Rico to repel a U.S. incursion. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands may not be states but they still belong to us.
All about the microchips
The real reason the State Department wants China’s political possession to eventually have full independence, even if they deny any plans along those lines, is all the proprietary microchip technology the island has. They make the chips every nation in the world needs. China isn’t about to let that go.
The way Antony Blinken sees it, “the United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.” Everybody knows that this latest move is guaranteed “to anger China, which claims the self-governing island as its own.”
In the past, we sold them some of our outdated weaponry under the Foreign Military Sales program. By using the “financing” option, we can “sell Taiwan U.S. training or equipment in the current U.S. stockpile.”
The US has approved #funding for the first-ever transfer of #USmilitary equipment to #Taiwan under a program typically saved for #SovereignNations.
The $80mn Foreign Military Financing (FMF) package will be paid by US taxpayers.https://t.co/mj9mfVx3JQ
— GuoLibrary (@GuoLibrary3) August 31, 2023
That could mean a “wide range of capabilities, including air and coastal defense systems, ballistic missile defense, cyber defense, drones, military training, individual soldier protective gear, and ammunition.” The deal doesn’t depend on upcoming congressional budget fights, either.
“Under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act passed last year, the US sets aside $2 billion annually in appropriations for military grant assistance to the island from 2023 to 2027.” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is hoping the move will help stave off war in the South China Sea.
“These weapons will not only help Taiwan and protect other democracies in the region, but also strengthen the U.S. deterrence posture and ensure our national security from an increasingly aggressive CCP,” he notes.
