The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the US State Department has given its approval for a potential sale of Volcano anti-tank mine-laying devices to Taiwan for around $180 million.
Prime contractors for the possible transaction include Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Corporation, as per a Reuters report.
According to US law, the executive branch must inform Congress of any proposed weapons sales that would exceed a particular threshold. These announcements are normally issued after Congress has granted the State Department and Pentagon preliminary authorization.
China has intensified its military, political, and economic pressure on Taiwan over the last three years to enforce its sovereignty assertions, including nearly daily Chinese air force operations near the island.
In a statement, Taiwan's defense ministry said the sale will go into effect in approximately a month, adding that the system would boost "asymmetric warfare" capabilities of Taiwan military, allowing for more nimble armed forces.
The ministry added that US military sales are "the cornerstone" of sustaining "regional stability and peace" because of the Chinese Communist Party's regular military actions around Taiwan.
Beijing Infuriated by US-Taiwan Military Partnership
China is enraged by the fact that the US is Taiwan's greatest overseas ally and primary supplier of weapons.
Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan to be a part of its territory and has threatened to capture the island by force if necessary. Taiwan has said that it would defend itself if attacked, in direct defiance of Beijing's claim of sovereignty.
US lawmakers of both parties favor continuing the decades-long practice of selling weaponry to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act. The action, though, would certainly infuriate Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be an integral part of China.
The biggest sale of arms to Taiwan during Biden administration was authorized in September, totaling over $1.1 billion and including as many as 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles, according to CNN.
The deal occurred not long after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August, which increased tensions between China and the United States.
The government proposed a $750 million arms deal to Taiwan in August 2021, with 40 M109A6 Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems and associated equipment for Taiwan military.
China Blasts US Defense Act for Next Year
Meanwhile, an article published on Thursday by China Military, a website sponsored by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, criticized the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 signed into law by US President Joe Biden last week.
The article argued there are several clauses in this measure that are meant to demonize China and repress Beijing on the Taiwan issue.
It also noted that the US failed to keep its promises and instead pursued a misguided course of action by continuing to manipulate the Taiwan issue through its weapons sales to Taiwan. According to the China Military piece, the measure taken by Washington is gravely violates the country's One China principle that may sabotage "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Straits region.
The article said it is time for the US to return to the "right path of the one-China principle" and scrap the "negative China-related sections in the bill or move even further down the wrong and dangerous road."
"If the United States persists in playing with fire on the Taiwan question, it is only a matter of time before it is brought to a reckoning," the piece noted.
