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The United States will proe Taiwan with up to $345 million of military assistance, using a presidential authority similar to the one by which it sends weapons to Ukraine, the White House announced Friday. The package is being proed as China continues efforts to increase its authority over democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Military defense equipment, education and training will be included in the package, the White House said.
“The drawdown includes self-defense capabilities that Taiwan will be able to use to bolster deterrence now and in the future,” Sue Gough, a Department of Defense spokeswoman, said by email. Systems in the package “address critical defensive stockpiles, multi-domain awareness, anti-armor and air defense capabilities,” she wrote.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement in response to the announced package that it is “grateful for the United States’ firm commitment to Taiwan’s security” and that the United States and Taiwan will “continue to cooperate closely” to maintain “peace, stability and the status quo” across the Taiwan Strait. The announcement follows complaints from the Taiwanese ministry over delays in the delivery of U.S. arms that Taiwan already purchased.
The United States unveiled a weapons aid package for Taiwan worth up to $345 million on July 28, a move likely to anger China. (Video: Reuters)
The new aid package marks the first time the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which expedites the process of supplying arms and pulls directly from stockpiles, is to be used for Taiwan. It has been used dozens of times for Ukraine, under a separate provision allowing for emergency support.
At a news briefing in Australia on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the assistance “is no change from what we’ve done in the past” and would not interrupt support to Ukraine.
“It’s important to use every mechanism we have available,” he said.
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Tensions were especially visible this week when Taipei launched its Han Kuang military exercises and simulated a Chinese invasion at its main airport.
President Biden has said the United States would defend Taiwan if China invaded the island, but the White House later appeared to soften the remarks. The Taiwan Relations Act allows the United States to proe “defense articles and defense services” to enable Taiwan’s self-defense capability, but it does not guarantee U.S. military intervention in an invasion.
Under its one-China policy, the United States “acknowledges” China’s position on Taiwan, but also does not take a position on Taiwan’s status. It has “a robust unofficial relationship” with the island, according the State Department. These close ties have incensed China, which has called on the United States to stop supplying arms to Taiwan. After then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year, Beijing responded with military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan.
Paul Huang, a defense analyst and a fellow at the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, was skeptical of the aid package and pointed to “serious delays in recent years in the delivery of numerous U.S. arms sales” to Taiwan.
“Whether it is arms sales or aid, there is widespread doubt regarding the capability of the U.S. in delivering these promised arms,” he said. “Taiwan should not put too much hope on these promises and must adjust its defense strategy and force building based on this new reality.”
