Should the United States Cease Arms Sales to Taiwan?
Since the Shanghai Communiqué, arms sales to Taiwan have burdened Sino-American relations. “The Taiwan Relations Act,” a US law made in 1979, requires the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character,” and “to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.” The US is not bound to protect Taiwan should the PRC attack the island, though the US has remained intentionally ambiguous of what its military reaction would be. In 1982, the US and China released a Joint Communiqué stating that the US will “gradually decrease its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.” That final resolution, almost 20 years later, has yet to be seen.
In the past, scope of the sales have varied. The Arms Control Association writes,
The value of annual U.S. government arms sales agreements with Taiwan varies, ranging in the past 20 years from a low of $135 million in fiscal year 2000 to a high of nearly $6.3 billion in fiscal year 1993. The United States also authorizes private U.S. arms companies to conclude weapon deals with Taiwan. The value of reported arms deliveries through these commercial channels has varied between roughly $15 million and $350 million each year. (Source)
Every year that an arms sale from the US to Taiwan is successful, Chinese-American relations strain. In the past, China has temporarily closed its Hong Kong ports to US military and has claimed damage its reunification efforts with Taiwan. Taiwan claims that China is currently aiming 1,000-1,500 missiles at the island, and that their security would be threatened without the United States’ aid. Now, Obama must decide by October 1 whether he will continue selling arms to the ROC.
The increasingly bilateral world calls for the Obama administration to have improved relations with the PRC. In the past, Obama has declined to meet with the Dalai Lama and has backed off human rights in an attempt to strengthen American ties with China (though Obama did meet with the Dalai Lama this past July). However, improving the Sino-American relationship should not take priority over national interest.
The sale in question is mainly parts replacement; it is not an upgrade in Taiwanese military technology (BBC). The sale will likely do little to upgrade Taiwan’s military capabilities to the point of significantly threatening mainland China. Furthermore, the $8 billion dollar sale can help stimulate America’s economy and potentially aid in job creation. China should be in support of this monetary aspect, given its ties to America’s wayward fiscal problems. Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-Jeou states that “the arms sales help the Taiwan-China dialogue by allowing Taipei to negotiate from a position of strength” (WSJ). Fundamentally, continuing to sell arms to Taiwan helps with China’s final goal of Taiwanese rapprochement, while also providing Taiwan with the power balance to be successful in its negotiations.
Despite these reasons to continue selling arms to Taiwan, maintaining regional security in the South China Sea should be America’s top concern. Arms sales to Taiwan go beyond the island itself; it signals to China that its preferences do not determine how sovereign states should act in the Pacific. As Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican and the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, states, “China must not be allowed to dictate US policy in the Pacific” (Committee on Foreign Affairs). It is time to uphold a hard realist foreign policy and the “Taiwan Relations Act.” The Obama administration must continue selling arms to Taiwan.
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