US mulls huge new Taiwan arms sale
This could throw a wrench in the gears…
The US is reportedly putting together a huge new weapons package sale for Taiwan just weeks ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China in April (FT).
Some context: In December, Washington approved a USD 11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan – the largest such arms deal in history.
- China registered its displeasure by conducting huge military drills around Taiwan.
The new package may be bigger – much bigger (FT):
- “Several people familiar with the situation said the package could be as big as $20bn.”
Unsurprisingly, Beijing is trying to kibosh the deal.
- FT sources say that China has warned the Trump administration that the sale could derail Trump’s planned visit.
- Indeed, in their phone call last week, Xi Jinping warned Trump to “handle…arms sales to Taiwan with prudence.”
Get smart: As much as Beijing wants to inject stability into US-China relations, it won’t tolerate threats to its reddest of red lines.
- A new record-breaking US arms sale to Taiwan could easily torpedo Trump’s China trip and, with it, months of painstaking progress toward stabilization.
Don’t panic (yet): The scope and timing of the sale have not been confirmed.
- Given how badly Trump seems to want to get US-China relations back on track, his administration may decide to hold off until a less politically sensitive moment.