The U.S. government has approved the sale of eighteen torpedoes to Taiwan. The arms deal, which involves an amount of $ 180 million, can put further pressure on the relationship between Washington and Beijing.
The Chinese government sees Taiwan as an apostate province.
The United States Department of State says that the sale of the projectiles is in the national interest of the U.S.
The sale “will enhance the security of the recipient and help maintain political stability, the military balance of power and economic progress in the region,” the department said in a statement.
The MK-48 torpedoes are designed to be fired from submarines. The projectiles are from the U.S. Navy stockpile.
Such arms sales are bad in China, which recently warned France that an arms deal with Taiwan would negatively impact the relationship.
Today’s Taiwan was founded by Chinese nationalists who fled last century after the proclamation of the Communist People’s Republic of China.
The democratically governed island state calls itself the Republic of China. The Americans ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, but are still the leading arms supplier.