The US is moving toward a “more normal foreign military sales relationship” with Taiwan, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver said on Thursday.
Schriver, who was asked by reporters on the sidelines of the 8th Annual Jamestown China Defense and Security Conference in Washington whether the US would change its arms sales policy on Taiwan from the current “bundling” approach, said the administration of US President Donald Trump views arms sales to Taiwan as foreign military sales and would push for more normal arms sales.
The conference was organized by the Jamestown Foundation and the Global Taiwan Institute.
Photo: CNA
Last month, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced an arms sales proposal that covers standard spare parts, and the repair and replacement of spare parts in support of Taiwan’s F-16s, C-130s, F-5s, Indigenous Defense Fighters and other aircraft systems.
The sale would be the second US weapons agreement with Taiwan since Trump took office, after a US$1.4 billion deal in June last year.
The US$300 million proposal was described by the US-Taiwan Business Council as a move by the US away from the previous “bundling” approach to arms sales.
The council also urged that new arms sales requests by Taiwan be given an inter-agency assessment that does not consider China’s potential reaction to the sale as a part of the equation.
American Institute in Taiwan Chairman James Moriarty on Wednesday said that he was sure it would use a “case-by-case” approach, but was not aware of any new US arms deals with Taiwan that would soon be approved.
In response, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said in Taipei that a normal arms sales approach is expected to help the nation upgrade its military capability.
The latest US$330 million arms sales proposal shows that Taiwan and the US have good communications and cooperation, Chen said.
At the conference, former US National Security Council official Mike Green said there is no doubt that Beijing is ramping up pressure on Taiwan in all arenas — diplomatic, economic, information and especially military.
“In my view, we should be pushing back in every domain so the military move is appropriate,” Green said.
He said it is concerning that officials in the administration do not know the importance of Taiwan or understand related security issues, referring to US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, who has suggested that once Washington stops arms sales to Taiwan, the US and China would be able to reach an agreement on trade.
Former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark said the pragmatism from the administration in terms of Taiwan policy has been fairly consistent with past administrations.
The only big change, Denmark said, was that the US purposely made it public that US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait a few months ago, but he preferred to see the move as symbolic.
The US should think about what it can do to help Taiwan and cross-strait stability, he said.
“I am thinking about substantive impact,” which will be more important than a symbolic gesture, Denmark said.
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