WASHINGTON — The U.S. is planning a new effort to help the Taiwanese government upgrade its military by allowing Taipei to buy billions of dollars’ worth of weapons systems, possibly including more than 100 tanks — a move that has already drawn criticism from Beijing.
Washington is legally obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to help the self-ruled island access defensive weapons, but such transactions are bitterly opposed by Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province. A new round of weapons sales to Taipei would also risk further inflaming tensions between the U.S. and China as the two countries remain locked in a trade fight.
Multiple people familiar with the weapons-sales plan told The Wall Street Journal that members of Congress have been informally notified of the possible arms sale. Ultimately, the Taiwanese government would have the option to buy some or all of the items included in the proposal, these people said.
Reuters earlier reported the potential sale, which includes Abrams tanks, antitank missiles, medium-range tactical missiles and portable Stinger air-defense missiles. The value could be in excess of $2 billion.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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