The Role of U.S. Arms Sales in Taiwan's Defense Transformation

The Jamestown Foundation ^ | 03/05/2010 | Michael S. Chase

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the approval of a major, long-awaited arms sales package for Taiwan. The $6.4 billion deal includes Patriot advanced capability (PAC-3) missiles along with radar sets and related equipment, UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, Osprey class mine hunting ships, Multifunction Information Distribution Systems terminals, and Harpoon telemetry missiles. China quickly expressed its indignation and blasted the decision as interference in its internal affairs. Beijing also retaliated by suspending some U.S.-China military-to-military exchanges, a move that was widely expected. This time, however, China reacted more assertively than it has in the past, including threatening to impose sanctions on the U.S. companies involved in selling weapons to Taiwan. China even warned of broader consequences for bilateral relations, perhaps to include turning a cold shoulder to U.S. requests for cooperation on other international problems such as Iran and North Korea [1].

Assessments of the motives underlying China’s reaction to the arms sales announcement and its potential ramifications for U.S.-China relations have dominated media coverage and online punditry, but an equally important question, and one that has been largely overlooked, is that of Taiwan’s future approach to defense transformation and arms procurements from the United States. The cross-Strait rapprochement that has taken shape since Ma Ying-jeou became President of Taiwan in 2008 has thus far featured four rounds of talks between the two sides respective semi-official negotiating bodies, Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, resulting in a series of 12 agreements on issues such as the establishment of direct cross-Strait flights, financial cooperation, food safety, mainland tourist visits to Taiwan, and law enforcement cooperation. Taiwan and China are also preparing for a fifth round of talks and continuing to negotiate the details of a