|
News
|
China Fuming Over US Arms Sale to Taiwan |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 18 February 2010 |
The United States hopes that the decision to provide Taiwan with $6.4 million in arms will not permanently damage relations with China. The relationship between Taiwan and China, as well as issues surrounding China’s currency valuation, protectionism, oppression in Tibet and civil liberties such as unfettered access to the internet continue to pose stumbling blocks to the more cooperative nature of U.S. – China relations.
The United States is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to provide defensive assistance to Taiwan. The State Department noted that the sale of arms was in accordance with our commitment to provide this assistance.
The Defense Department hopes that China’s decision to forego bilateral military contacts will be short-lived. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to visit China this year remain unchanged, though China might cancel the visit as a form of sanction.
China’s missile stockpile was highlighted in the 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report to Congress by the Pentagon. The United States is concerned about an imbalance of military power between Taiwan and mainland China. Presently, China has 1,400 missiles aimed at Taiwan. China maintains that Taiwan must submit to reunification, and has long decried the United States’ role in supplying the island with weaponry which only protracts Taiwan’s submission.
Although China has threatened to sanction companies that have supplied Taiwan with arms, many believe the outcry is intended to discourage the sale of F-16 fighter jets to the province. China has limited options to pressure the United States, but can try to use the U.S. desire for Chinese support in containing the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea as a means of exerting influence. China would need to do so carefully, as trading influence in resolving global problems for a better position in a bilateral conflict could result in greater isolation in the international community.
 |
|
StarrJournal.com constantly expands its network of associated partners, and if you wish to exchange links with the news portal, kindly click on this particular link in order to access the link center. Also, for faster link submissions, kindly use this particular link instead. StarrJournal.com hopes to gain better web exposure in the near future.
Archive
-
January, 2012
-
July, 2011
-
June, 2011
-
May, 2011
-
March, 2011
-
February, 2011
-
January, 2011
-
December, 2010
-
November, 2010
-
September, 2010
-
August, 2010
-
July, 2010
-
June, 2010
-
May, 2010
-
April, 2010
-
March, 2010
-
February, 2010
-
January, 2010
-
December, 2009
-
November, 2009
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
