U.S. Arm Sales To Taiwan

Taiwan military honour guards march during a changing-of-guard ceremony at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei October 4, 2008. The U.S. government on Friday announced about $6.5 billion in advanced arms sales to Taiwan, including 30 Boeing Co Apache attack helicopters and 330 Patriot missiles, a move that could well anger China. REUTERS/Nicky Loh

Taiwan Says U.S. Arms Package Signals Warming Ties -- Reuters

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The $6.5-billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan heralds warming ties between Washington and Taipei after years of mistrust under the previous Taiwanese president, Taiwan officials said on Saturday.

And while China is likely to protest to the deal, analysts said on Saturday the sale was unlikely to increase tensions between Beijing and Washington since the approval comes near the end of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration.

"The deal shows that Taiwan and the United States have developed a strong trust between both sides," Tony Wang, Taiwan presidential office spokesman, told a news conference.

"This is a stark contrast compared to the previous administration when there was a lot of mistrust," Wang said.

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My Comment: With the war in Iraq winding down, the U.S. is now starting to look at its strategic positions around the world. Taiwan has definitely been on the backburner for the past few years. This sale is addressing this oversight. How the Chinese Government is going to react in the next few days will be telling on what is going to happen here in the next few years.

The Chinese probably knew that with the end of the arms embargo, the Taiwanese were going to get what they want. There are so few secrets in Asia now. How China will accommodate this reality .... this is something that they have probably been planning for a very long time, and we will probably know what they have decided upon in the next few days/weeks.