Congress seeks to arm Taiwan quickly as China threat grows
Washington PostNov 14, 2022
The White House has approved funding for the first-ever transfer of US military equipment to Taiwan under the US Dept. of State's Foreign Military Financing program — a process usually reserved for providing grant assistance to sovereign countries.
Congress was notified Wednesday of the $80M aid — which could include drones, ballistic missile and cyber defenses, air and coastal defense systems, and advanced communications equipment.
This military aid is crucial for Taiwan as China takes an increasingly aggressive stance toward the self-ruled island. Any conflict in the region would gravely weaken the US position and allow the PRC to take one step further towards global hegemony, which is why Washington must speed up the delivery of weapons to help the island defend itself.
Though the US doesn't officially recognize Taiwan, Washington wants to transfer military equipment just to weaken the one-China principle it claims to acknowledge. Under the pretense of providing self-defense, America is using the island to create more volatility in the Asia-Pacific and provoke military conflict in the Taiwan Straits to try to thwart China's development.
There's a 60% chance that the US will respond with military force if China invades Taiwan before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.