Taiwan happy with US aid package, China objects to arms sales

[April 24, 2024]  By Ben Blanchard and Liz Lee

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) -Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday she was happy the U.S. Congress had passed a sweeping foreign aid package which includes arms support for the island, as China urged Washington to stop selling weapons to Taipei.

The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly demanded arms sales stop.

The Senate approved by 79 to 18 four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course last week and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific.

Meeting visiting U.S. lawmakers at the presidential office in Taipei, Tsai referred to the passage of the bills at the weekend.

"We are also very happy that the Senate has just passed these bills," she said.

Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said areas where the money is to be spent, such as training or equipment, would be discussed with the United States.

"The United States has expressed goodwill, and it needs to be negotiated between us," he told parliament.

China says Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, is a purely internal matter and the most sensitive and important issue in ties with the United States.

In Beijing, China's Taiwan Affairs Office expressed anger at the bills, which President Joe Biden said he would sign into law on Wednesday.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during the Ketagalan forum in Taipei, Taiwan August 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

The bills "send the wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces, and we are resolutely opposed to it", spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told reporters.

"We urge the United States to take concrete actions to fulfill its commitment not to support Taiwan independence and to stop arming Taiwan in any way," she added.

The strengthening of "military collusion" between the United States and Taiwan would not bring security for the island, China's foreign ministry said.

"It will only push up tensions and the risk of conflict and confrontation in the Taiwan Strait," said spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in China on Wednesday for a visit, with Taiwan likely to be one of the topics for discussion.

Taiwan has protested for the past four years about stepped up Chinese military activity near the island, including almost daily missions by Chinese warplanes and warships.

However, since 2022, Taiwan has complained of delays in deliveries of U.S. weapons such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers focused on supplying Ukraine to help it battle invading Russian forces.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Liz Lee; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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