Issue Brief: Implications of Defense Ties between the U.S. and Taiwan
Security Assistance Monitor, December 2020
The Security Assistance Monitor’s latest issue brief examines the progression of defense ties between the U.S. and Taiwan in light of deteriorating U.S.-China relations.
The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 established that the U.S. must offer defense articles and defense services to the island for it to “maintain a sufficient self-defense capacity.” But under the Trump administration, the level of U.S. weapons sales and security cooperation with Taiwan have increased significantly, as have high-level official U.S. visits to Taipei. A full 37% of U.S. arms sales to the island since 1950 have occurred during the Trump administration, as have the most senior U.S. delegations to Taipei in decades.
This spike in sales embodies the United States’ national security shift towards great power competition under Trump. However, the strategy’s effectiveness at deterring Beijing’ss regional ambitions remains in question, as increased security ties between the U.S. and Taipei have riled mainland China while adding only marginally to Taiwan’s ability to withstand a hypothetical conflict with the mainland. Beijing has responded to recent arms sales with sanctions on U.S. officials and defense companies, as well as expanding military drills across the Taiwan Strait.
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Data Fact of the Week:
Arms Sales to the United Arab Emirates During the Trump Administration
The graphic above illustrates U.S. foreign military sales to the UAE since 2009, including the most recent notification of over $23B in arms which Congress failed to block this past week.
As the graphic shows, the most recent package is one of the largest ever proposed for Abu Dhabi.
