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October 08, 2008 |  | By Dr Monika Chansoria | ||
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In the waning days of his Presidency, on October 3, 2008, US President George W. Bush notified the Congress his approval for selling defensive weapon systems worth a staggering $6.9 billion to Taiwan. This came as a surprise to many since there was intense speculation that the Bush administration would leave the decision to the new occupant of the White House. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, however, notified the Congress on the proposed arms sales and gave it 30 days to raise objections to the plan, if any. The package of weapon systems includes $3.1 billion Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) guided missile systems, $2.5 billion worth of Apache Longbow attack helicopters, $250 million in equipment for upgrading Taiwan's E-2T Hawkeye surveillance aircraft and $200 million in Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The proposal also includes more than $300 million in spare parts for Taiwanese aircrafts including F-5 and F-16 fighter jets. In addition to these, $47 million in Javelin guided missiles and command systems, radars and control systems designed to defend against missiles and aircrafts, antimissile systems sold by Raytheon and helicopters from Boeing are also a part of the pack. A US State Department statement described the arms package as, "a significant and tangible demonstration of the commitment of this administration to provide Taiwan the defensive arms its needs to be strong."
In a swift response, the Taiwan government expressed admiration at the move and stressed that 'the leadership in Taipei wanted to maintain a strong defense while striving to improve relations with China. According to a Taiwanese spokesperson, "President Ma Ying-jeou would like to express gratitude to the US for the arms package. A strong defense and peace in the Taiwan Strait are necessary for Taiwan's prosperity." As a matter of fact, this latest deal stands at nearly half the package of $12 billion that was envisioned initially. Moreover, it does not include advanced F-16 C/D Falcon jet fighters, without which, Taiwan claims it would find it hard to maintain a balance in air defense in the Taiwan Strait, especially given the rapid modernization programme of the PLA air force.
Expectedly, the announcement of the sale of these systems has Beijing red in the face with China decrying the move and simultaneously issuing a warning that the weapons deal would cause further deterioration in ties. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei called for a meeting with the US chargé d'affaires in Beijing to protest the sale. Furthermore, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the arms sale would interfere in China's internal affairs and national security and that the Chinese government and people strongly opposed the sale, since it would harm relations between China and the United States.
This newest weapons package was proposed way back in 2001 during the first term of the Bush administration. It, however, got delayed owing to budget fallouts within Taiwan and political concerns in Washington regarding future ties with mainland China. Defending its move, State Department spokesman Karl Duckworth said, "The sale is consistent with US policy and that all foreign military sales are discussed and approved through long-established procedures. We appreciate [Taiwan President] Ma Ying-jeou's administration's efforts to reduce tensions in the Taiwan Strait and to build on the already excellent ties between the people of Taiwan and the US."
Nonetheless, this latest arms deal will surely come as a spoiler, given the recent warming of ties between China and Taiwan in the few months since the landslide victory of Kuomintang (KMT) Party candidate Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwanese presidential poll in 2008. This had, in fact, triggered a new wave in China-Taiwan ties with direct flights plying across the Taiwan Strait. The recent breakthrough in cross-strait relations were largely being attributed to the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou who rejects the push for independence of Taiwan, although he opposes unification with China. His election campaign had focused primarily on promises of seeking closer ties with China.
China vehemently opposes the deal and claims the island as its territory and has even threatened to invade it, should the self-governing island ever formalize its de facto independence. Keeping in line with this sentiment, China earlier adopted an Anti-Secession Law in 2005 that legalized "non-peaceful means […] to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" in the event that "possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted." The law holds clear implications for any move by Taiwan to declare independence. Significantly, Article 8 of the law states "In the event that the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Therefore, a concern that still appears to loom large is whether the KMT would find comprehensive power to push Taiwan towards a new era in cross-strait relations, given that Taiwan has incessantly featured as a sticking point in Sino-US relations in particular, and the Asian-Pacific security apparatus, in general. The latest arms deal and Taiwan's constant dependence on US weapons sales to keep pace with China's massive arms buildup will surely be a major hiccup in the current situation and cause turbulence in the Asia-Pacific security situation.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views either of the Editorial Committee or the Centre for Land Warfare Studies)
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