WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) The US State Department signed off on a proposed sale of $330 million in aircraft spare parts to Taiwan, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release.
"TECRO [Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office] has requested a Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II to provide funds for... standard spare parts, and repair/replace of spare parts in support of the F-16, C-130, F-5, Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), [and] all other aircraft systems and subsystems," the release said on Monday.
The total estimated program cost is $330 million, the release noted. The proposed sale of parts is required to maintain Taiwan's defensive and transport aerial fleet, which the island has operated since 1996, and the sale will not alter the military balance in East Asia, the release added.
China typically protests when the United States sells weapons to Taiwan, which operates as an independent nation but is considered a rebel province by Beijing. While the United States formally adheres to a "One China" policy, it has maintained informal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In March, US President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan travel Act that sought to stimulate visits between officials from Taiwan and the United States. The Chinese Defense Ministry then said it was viewing the move as direct interference in China's domestic affairs.
Earlier this month, the State Department in a press release said that the United States called back its top envoys from Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic over their decisions to no longer recognize Taiwan.
