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Troublesome Transfers in the Works

 Taiwan

Arms Sales Tables:

• Total Licenses/Agreements 1990-2001
• Total Deliveries 1990-2000
• Congressional Notifications Table

Requested Equipment:  4 Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers, 4 Kidd-class destroyers, 6-8 conventional powered submarines, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 air defense systems, P-3C anti-submarine helicopters,  Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), AGM-88 "HARM" high-speed anti-radiation missiles (for F-16 fighter jets), M1A2 "Abrams" main battle tanks, and AH-64 D Longbow Apache attack helicopters. 

Issues:  Every April for the past several years, the U.S. government has reviewed Taiwan's wish list of arms purchases from U.S. companies. When making its decision, the U.S. must walk a fine line between upholding the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which obliges the U.S. to provide Taiwan with enough defense articles and services to maintain a "sufficient self-defense capability" against possible forced reunification with China, and the 1982 U.S.-Sino Communique, in which the U.S. commits to reducing arms sales to the island in order to promote a peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflict.

The most controversial item on the April 2001 arms request list were 4 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with the Aegis battle management system. The Aegis system is capable of tracking and countering over 200 land, sea, and air targets with phased-array radars that are much faster than traditional rotating radars. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers could also be linked to a U.S. sea-based theater missile defense system once it is developed. The destroyers would be made by General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va., Litton Industries Inc. of Los Angeles, and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., home state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

While opposing in principle all arms sales to Taiwan, China raised the most serious alarm bells over the sale of Aegis equipment because it would most directly affect the balance of power in the region. China has deployed around 260 ballistic missiles on its shores, 100 miles across the Taiwan Strait. But if Taiwan were to purchase the Burke-class destroyers, it would dramatically improve its ability to counter this number of missiles, plus threats from sea and air, in the event of armed conflict. In order to project the same level of strength, China would have to enhance its own military capabilities, bringing the region into a dangerous arms race. China also believes that if Taiwan has the Aegis system, the U.S. would eventually bring Taiwan into a U.S. theater missile defense network, creating a much closer military relationship between American and Taiwanese forces. Many military experts do not believe Taiwan is capable of using all the equipment currently in its arsenal, let alone the complex Aegis battle management system. In addition, although the provocation would be immediate, it would be 8-10 years until the Aegis destroyers are built and deployed. The April 2001 EP-3 spy plane incident on China's Hainan island further increased the level of pressure from China not to make the sale and from conservatives in the U.S. government to go ahead with it.

President Bush decided on April 23rd not to sell the Aegis destroyers at this time. Instead, he offered the largest package of weapons to Taiwan since the President's father sold 150 F-16 fighter jets to the island in 1992. The offer included 4 Kidd-class destroyers, 12 anti-submarine planes, up to eight diesel-powered submarines, mine-sweeping helicopters, torpedoes and amphibious assault vehicles. He also agreed to provide technical briefings for Taiwan on the newest version of Patriot anti-missile missiles, the PAC-3s, which are still in development and will not be available even for American armed forces until 2005 or 2006. The administration deferred a decision on Taiwan's requests for Apache helicopters, HARM missiles and M1A2 "Abrams" battle tanks.

The administration's consent to export 8 diesel-powered submarines may, however, prove to be a complicated affair. Diesel submarines have not been built in the U.S. since the 1950s. The Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi is now gearing up to produce submarines again for export to Egypt with a licensed production deal from the Netherlands. But neither the Netherlands or any other Western European sub maker is likely to approve American use of their designs for an export to Taiwan. Most European states do not currently approve arms sales to Taipei and would likely face repercussions from China for letting the U.S. use their sub technology in this manner.

China reacted angrily to this weapons package, though did not threaten to retaliate at this point. Beijing may have toned down its criticism because the U.S. did not offer the Burke-class destroyers. Taiwan's strategy may actually have been to ask for the most advanced weapons possible with the hopes that the remaining weapons on the list would look relatively inoffensive to China and the U.S. President Bush also sought to relieve tension with China by announcing that he would stop the yearly review process of arms exports to Taiwan, which forces yearly decisions on arms exports instead of reviewing them only when the need arises. But neither this announcement nor the failure to approve the Aegis system can compensate for the fact that the U.S. is providing sophisticated weaponry - and not all of a purely defensive nature - to a place that the U.S. government technically considers part of China, raising tensions across the Strait and increasing the likelihood that the long-standing dispute will be resolved through the use or threat of force, not through peaceful negotiations.

Status: The administration is still seeking a way to supply diesel submarines. The Aegis destroyer decision may be revisited in the future.

Additional Background information on Taiwan