USA: from the Pentagon ok to the sale of F-16 ammunition to Taiwan
A new package of American weapons in Taiwan. Value: $619 million. The Pentagon yesterday evening approved the potential sale to the island of munitions for F-16 fighter jets, 100 AGM-88 missiles capable of knocking out ground-based radar stations and 200 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. "The proposed sale will contribute to the recipient's ability to provide for its airspace defense, regional security and interoperability with the United States," the US Department of Defense said in a statement. The main suppliers will be Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin: both companies sanctioned by China for having sold weapons to Taiwan in the past. A new package that will annoy Beijing. In the last two days, in fact, there have been significant Chinese incursions into the air identification space of the island, a "rebel province" to be reunified for the Communist Party: 21 planes have flown over the Strait in the last 24 hours alone. "China opposes and calls on the United States to stop arms sales and military contacts with Taiwan," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said this morning. The sale of US-made armaments to the democratic island is nothing new: the United States has been doing it for forty years. But that certainly comes at a time when tensions around the Strait of old Formosa have re-exploded forcefully after the visit of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi last August 2 with consequent mega-exercises by the Chinese army. And after last week's reports that the United States is preparing to quadruple the presence of American troops on the island for training programs. Currently there are about 40 and could increase to 150-200.
