US Approves First Direct Military Aid to Taiwan

In a significant move, President Joe Biden’s administration has granted its initial direct military aid to Taiwan, a decision made under a foreign assistance initiative aimed at various governments.

President Joe Biden’s administration has for the first time approved direct US military aid to Taiwan under an assistance program aimed at foreign governments, officials said Wednesday, as worries grow over China.

The State Department informed Congress on Tuesday of the $80 million package, which is small compared with recent sales to Taiwan but marks the first assistance to Taipei under the Foreign Military Financing program, which generally involves grants or loans to sovereign countries.

The move is sure to anger China. For five decades, the United States has officially recognized only Beijing although Congress, under the Taiwan Relations Act, requires the supply of weapons to the self-governing democracy for its defense.

Successive US administrations have done so through sales rather than direct aid to Taiwan, with formal statements speaking in the tone of business transactions with the island’s de-facto embassy in Washington.

The State Department insisted that the first-ever aid under the program did not imply any recognition of sovereignty of Taiwan.

“Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and our longstanding One China policy, which has not changed, the United States makes available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to enable it to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” a State Department spokesperson said.

“The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”

Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed gratitude. “The aid will help in regional peace and stability,” it said in a short statement.

The State Department did not formally announce the aid or give details, but a person familiar with the notice said the assistance would involve support to improve awareness at sea.

Marie de La Roche Saint-André, with AFP