US President Donald Trump with an M1A2 Abrams tank at the Lima Army Tank Plant in Lima, Ohio, March 20, 2019. The US is proposing the sale of .2 billion in arms to Taiwan, including 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, sidestepping protests from China. (Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times/File)The US State Department is proposing the sale of $2.2 billion in arms to Taiwan, including 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, sidestepping protests from China.
The tanks represent a significant upgrade to Taiwan’s aging armored battle fleet. Congress has been notified of the proposed sale and lawmakers can vote to stop it.
The Chinese foreign ministry has said it firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its territory.
The State Department says the arms will help Taiwan “meet current and future regional threats” and enhance its ability to operate with the US and other partners.
Taiwan split from China in 1949, and has no formal diplomatic ties with the US America is Taiwan’s main supplier of defensive weapons.
