China and US arms sales to Taiwan

By S.P.SETH

US-China relations have taken a sharp dive, with Washington’s decision to sell a range of weapons to Taiwan for its defense against any Chinese attack on the island nation.

The proposed sale has been submitted to the Congress for its approval, which is expected to be forthcoming.

The weapons are said to include 114 Patriot anti-missile missiles, 60 Black Hawk helicopters and two minesweepers.

Beijing has predictably hit the roof, warning the US of a “serious negative impact” on ties between the two countries.

Even more enigmatic, if not ominous, are the remarks of its vice foreign minister, He Yafei, that the proposed arms deal would lead to an “aftermath both sides would not prefer”, and thus asking the US to reverse its “erroneous” decision.

However, looking at it rationally, there is nothing new in the US decision to sell defensive weapons to Taiwan.

It is a continuation of their policy under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 under which the US is “legally obliged to help Taiwan defend itself.”

And, according to a US State Department spokesperson, “Such sales contribute to maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait…”

Which is not off-the–mark because, even under a friendly Taiwanese government, led by President Ma, Beijing has not removed its estimated 1,000 missiles targeted at Taiwan.

Indeed, in the course of Taiwan’s last elections, the then presidential candidate Ma (now President) had pledged to bring about a security agreement between the two countries to deal with this threat.

But nothing has happened in this regard, despite the Ma Government’s initiatives to expand relations with China.

It is not that the US hasn’t sold defensive weapons to Taiwan in the past. And it would continue to do so in the future under its relevant law.

China has always objected to it. But this time its objections are somewhat ominous in their rhetoric.

Why is Beijing acting like this?

Because, it had come to over-estimate its global power.

Ever since the Obama Administration took power last year, the US gave China an equal billing in managing crucial global issues, like the financial crisis, nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, climate change and so on.

There was increasingly talk of US and China as G-2 powers.

Not only this, during her China visit, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, thanked China for continuing to buy US treasury notes and bonds, notwithstanding the economic crisis in that country.

Around the same time, Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern about the security of China’s investments in US currency.

Seemingly to emphasize a new era in US-China relations, Hillary Clinton said in Beijing that China’s human rights issues wouldn’t derail progress in other areas of their bilateral relations.

It is not surprising, therefore, that China started to over-estimate its global power and behaved like the US was a client state.

And when the proposed sale of arms to Taiwan was announced, Beijing hit the roof with all kinds of retaliatory threats.

The Chinese wolf will keep huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the roof for quite some time to come.

But eventually it should settle down, though there is always a danger of things getting out of control in a state of brinkmanship.