WASHINGTON—The Trump administration has decided to sell billions of dollars’ worth of F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move likely to anger Beijing at a sensitive point in
U.S.-China relations.
The State Department has begun informing staffers on congressional committees but has yet to formally notify Congress of the possible sale. A State Department official declined to comment on the terms of a potential sale before official congressional notification, in keeping with department policy.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed support for the sale. Reps. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the chairman and ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a joint statement the move “sends a strong message about the U.S. commitment to security and democracy in the Indo-Pacific.”
Messrs. Engel and McCaul said the possible sale, which they predicted would receive strong congressional backing, would both bolster U.S.-Taiwan ties and deter interference by Beijing.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R., Idaho) said: “These fighters are critical to improving Taiwan’s ability to defend its sovereign airspace, which is under increasing pressure from the People’s Republic of China.”
The move follows the July approval of up to
$2 billion in Abrams tanks for Taiwan—a development that drew swift criticism from Beijing.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. The U.S. is the main arms supplier to Taiwan, but has formal diplomatic ties with Beijing rather than with Taipei, in keeping with Beijing’s “One China” policy.
Taiwanese officials continually emphasize their close relationship with the U.S., and expressed cautious optimism about the possible F-16 purchase.
But the sale of the fighter jets is likely to further infuriate Beijing at a time when tensions are already running high over fragile trade talks and mounting unrest in Hong Kong.
President Trump
warned Beijing this week that it must respond humanely to the protests in Hong Kong if it wants to strike a trade deal with Washington. Face-to-face trade negotiations are set to resume in September.
As with Taiwan, Beijing views Hong Kong as a domestic matter and has rejected international criticism of the crisis in the city as an attempt to undermine Chinese sovereignty.