30-01-10 U.S. announces $6.4 billion weapons sale to TaiwanThe Obama administration announced plans Friday to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan,including helicopters and missile defense systems -- a move that is certain to anger China,which considers the island nation a renegade province.At the same time,Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly stepped up pressure on China to reconsider its opposition to new sanctions on Iran,suggesting that a nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East and,with it,China's energy supplies.Taken together,the developments appeared to portend rough times ahead for ties between the world's two largest economies,already strained this month over a threat by Internet giant Google to pull out of the Chinese market.The proposed weapons sale to Taiwan,President Barack Obama's first,includes 114 PAC-3 missile defense rockets,60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters,a dozen Harpoon anti-ship missiles and two mine-hunting ships as well as communications and surveillance equipment.The U.S. arms package did not include several big-ticket items that Taiwan has sought,such as F-16 fighter jets and diesel-electric submarines.China is certain to protest the sale loudly,although it remains to be seen whether it will move beyond rhetoric to hardening its position on Iran,climate change,trade,purchases of U.S. Treasury securities or other issues.The last time the United States sold arms to Taiwan,in 2008,China temporarily suspended Sino-U.S. military-to-military contacts. |
