U.S. Escalates China Tensions With Taiwan Missile Plan

Date: 10 July 2020 - 21:31

News ID: ۸۰۴۵۴

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The United States on Friday approved a request from Taiwan to modernize the self-ruled island’s Patriot surface-to-air missile systems amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The U.S. State Department said Taiwan had requested to buy an estimated $620 million upgrade package for its Patriot missiles "in order to support an operational life of 30 years.”
It said Lockheed Martin would be the main contractor. The sale, it claimed, would not only serve U.S. interests but strengthen Taiwan’s military in the face of "regional threats”.
"The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense. The recipient will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces,” the department said.
Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed the report and said the arms sale — the seventh by the U.S. administration to the island — is expected to take effect within the next month.
China has sovereignty over Taiwan, and under the "One China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. The U.S. recognizes Chinese sovereignty but has long courted Taiwan in an attempt to counter Beijing.
Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue, with Beijing claiming the self-ruled island as its own, to be brought under its control by force if needed. Many Taiwanese trace their ancestry to mainland China and share cultural similarities with Chinese.
Washington is the island’s largest weapons supplier and an avid backer of Taiwan’s secessionist president Tsai Ing-wen, causing increasing tensions with Beijing over trade and a host of other issues.
Tsai raised the ante in her brinksmanship, saying China must accept that Taiwan is already independent.
Washington almost regularly makes provocative moves around the self-governed island, particularly by sailing its warships through the sensitive and strategic Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from China.
The sailings usually draw angry reaction from China, which has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its full control.
While Taiwan’s military is well-equipped with mostly U.S.-made hardware, China has huge numerical superiority and is adding advanced equipment of its own such as stealth fighters.
Beijing is also at odds with Washington over its support for riots in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong, which has been the scene of unrest over the past months due to a now-revoked extradition bill and a new security law.