US arms deal to Taiwan surfaces

By Yu Miao

The Obama administration notified the US Congress earlier this month of three arms-sales programs related to radar upgrades for Taiwan's Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF), the US-Taiwan Business Council (UTBC) said Tuesday.

These relatively small programs were commercial sales that require congressional notification given their value of more than $50 million, the UTBC said.

At a press conference later that day, Philip Crowley, spokesman for the US Department of State, confirmed that Congress had received the notification.

"The authorizing of export licenses (for these arms sales to Taiwan) is fully consistent with the one-China policy based on three US-China joint communiqués," he said.

However, the China-US Joint Communiqué of 1982, stated that the US arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed the level of those supplied around 1979, when the US and China established diplomatic ties, and that the US intends to reduce gradually its arms sales to Taiwan.

"From these reported arms sales, I can't see any intention from the US to reduce arms-sales to Taiwan, even if they are relatively small," a Chinese military strategist told the Global Times on the condition of anonymity. "Data collected from the IDFs will be shared with the US military, so the upgrade will also benefit Washington."

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the UTBC, called the notification an encouraging "change in policy."

Washington's recent policy - freezing Taiwan arms-sales notifications and then releasing them as packages - has increased Beijing's ire rather than reducing it, the UTBC said.

Hammond-Chambers also noted that in the absence of political obstruction, a congressional notification is due in the winter of 2010-2011 for Taiwan's request of updating its fleet of 145 F-16s jet fighters.

"China's reaction this time may not exceed the level, in February when US President Barack Obama approved $6 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan," said Wu Xinbo, vice dean of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University. "The US arms sales to Taiwan are an issue that holds back the development of Sino-US ties, and these reported sales may just make the situation even worse."

Agencies contributed to this story