Should the U.S. Authorize More Arms Sales To Taiwan?

Obama's Taiwan Conundrum: Should the U.S. Authorize More Arms Sales? -- Time

U.S. presidents have reason to not relish decisions on selling arms to Taiwan. Say yes, as Barack Obama did in January 2010, when he approved the sale of $6.4 billion worth of equipment including Patriot air defense missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and two Osprey mine-hunting ships, and you anger China. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory that must eventually be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. The Beijing government considers the arms sales, which are authorized under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, to be acts of interference in its own internal affairs. After the 2010 arms sale, China cut off military ties with the U.S., only resuming them in late 2010 ahead of President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington.

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My Comment: If the American economy was sound and our fiscal house was in order .... the decision to sell F-16s would have been done a long time ago. Unfortunately .... we are now dependent more on China than before, and it is this relationship that takes precedent over issues like Taiwan.