Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

vesicles said:

I think the sale will go through and China will do little more than verbal objection, like usual. My personal opinion: Taiwan is no longer a priority for China. China's strategic ambition is much more than simply taking back Taiwan. China is using Taiwan as an excuse to expand its military. So whenever China's expanding defense is brought up, the Chinese can say "hey we want Taiwan and this is our own issue and has nothing to do with others". This way, other nations would less likely to be alarmed by China's military expansion. even Taiwan is still a priority, it is a short term one.

Another thing, China could also be using Taiwan as leverage against the US. Like a bargaining, China can say to the US "hey we've made concession with you on the issue of Taiwan and let the arms sale go through. What can you do for us?"

My 2-cent...

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vesicles said:

I think the sale will go through and China will do little more than verbal objection, like usual. My personal opinion: Taiwan is no longer a priority for China.

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Mr T said:

If the sale goes ahead, China will probably suspend military ties with the US again. But apart from words it won't do much else.

However, I think that China will be lobbying to stop a sale before it is approved. It will do so quite strongly too. China still wants to gain and sustain an overwhelming military advantage over Taiwan. It can't do that if the US continues to make significant arms sales to the country.

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vesicles said:

Since we are talking about a potential arms race in Asia in another thread, how far do you think Taiwan is willing to go in terms of striking a balance with China. Is it possible that China is actually secretly wishing the sale would go through and this trend would continue? Meaning that, as China keeps stockpiling missiles across the strait, Taiwan would be pushed into a potential arms race, which would eventually go disastrous for Taiwan.

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vesicles said:

Since we are talking about a potential arms race in Asia in another thread, how far do you think Taiwan is willing to go in terms of striking a balance with China.

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The United States plans to resume arms sales to Taiwan and warned of a build-up of missiles aimed at the island by China, a top U.S. diplomat said Tuesday.

Washington has not struck any new arms deals with Taiwan since President Barack Obama was sworn in at the start of the year, sparking concerns in Taipei that sales had been informally suspended.

Beijing opposes all U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and has called previous deals a sticking point in Sino-U.S. relations.

Tuesday, however, Washington's top diplomat in Taiwan said weapons sales would continue under Obama, although he declined to give specifics.

"The number (of Chinese missiles) continues to grow," Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, told a news conference.

Taiwan leaders say China has aimed 1,000 to 1,500 short-range and medium-range missiles at the island.

"It's a form of threat," Burghardt said. "That's the only way to look at it. Of course they should remove the missiles."

China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island.

Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

Washington recognizes China diplomatically and is seeking to improve relations with the Asian economic powerhouse, but the U.S. is also Taiwan's closest informal ally and obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help with its defense.

Taiwan is seeking a $4.9 billion deal for 66 advanced F-16s to modernize its military. Burghardt said the request was being evaluated.

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Mr T said:

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A.Man said:

Selling weapons to Taiwan is the worst way to help them.

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