Bloomberg
16 December 2015
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- U.S. Said to Move ahead with $1.83 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan
U.S. Said to Move ahead with $1.83 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan
The Obama administration is preparing to move forward with a $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan that will be announced as soon as Thursday, according to two U.S. officials familiar with a move that’s already drawing sharp denunciations from China.
The package includes two previously approved Navy frigates, Marine Corps amphibious vehicles, Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, according to the two officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sale ahead of an announcement.
The sale to Taiwan would come less than two months after the U.S. sailed a Navy warship into disputed waters claimed by China in the South China Sea, intensifying the rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. On Tuesday, China expressed its objections to the sale ahead of a possible U.S. announcement, saying the move would “undermine the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and China-U.S. relations.”
… The sale of the two frigates to Taiwan isn’t likely to cause much friction in the U.S.-China relationship, according to Collin Koh Swee Lean, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
IDSS / Online
Last updated on 16/12/2015
