Why are members of the U.S. Congress keen on selling arms to Taiwan

Why are members of the U.S. Congress keen on selling arms to Taiwan Source: Phoenix Blog There is a "fan group" for arms sales to Taiwan in the U.S. Congress. In May...

Why are U.S. congressmen keen on arms sales to Taiwan Source: Phoenix Blog There is a “fan group” for arms sales to Taiwan in the U.S. Congress. On May 26, 45 bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate issued a rare joint letter to President Obama, urging the Obama administration to take action as soon as possible to sell F-16C/D fighter jets to Taiwan. Recently, U.S. members of Congress who support arms sales to Taiwan have collaborated with the Taiwan authorities to put pressure on the Obama administration again, hoping to sell Taiwan the new F16 fighter jets it urgently needs as soon as possible. Relevant congressmen even threatened to force the US State Department to actively promote the issue of arms sales to Taiwan by prohibiting the adoption of a new Deputy Secretary of State. Not long ago, around the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States sparked a discussion about whether it should stop arms sales to Taiwan to avoid affecting Sino-US relations. Those who hope that the United States will consider suspending arms sales believe that arms sales to Taiwan are a vicious cycle that are not enough to help Taiwan resist mainland China but are harmful to the positive development of Sino-US relations. Opposition to stopping arms sales to Taiwan mainly stems from the belief that the United States cannot give up Taiwan’s important position in the U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy. More importantly, not only can arms sales to Taiwan bring efficient economic benefits, but it can also avoid the economic problems caused by the monopoly of East Asian economies by China. According to the latest report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have brought considerable economic benefits to the United States. In the past four years, the U.S. has sold approximately US$16.5 billion in arms to Taiwan. If the United States upgrades the 146 F16A/Bs sold to Taiwan, the value could reach US$4.5 billion. At the same time, if the F16C/D is sold, it can provide more than 10,000 job opportunities for Lockheed Martin. This can explain why Senator Cornyn of Texas, where F-16 fighter jets are assembled, said when Lockheed Martin announced 1,500 layoffs on June 30: "The Obama administration should allow Taiwan to purchase new F16 fighter jets." It was Cornyn who threatened to block the appointment of a new deputy secretary of state to force the Obama administration to promote new arms sales to Taiwan. The code of conduct for members of the U.S. Congress is mainly based on the consideration of the interests of interest groups and voters. Therefore, when members of Congress intervene in foreign affairs, because of their limited professional knowledge and access to foreign affairs information, they often only consider local interests, such as the interests of individuals being re-elected, the interests of constituencies and related interest groups, and it is difficult to balance the needs of U.S. diplomacy from an overall perspective. However, Congress plays a very important role in U.S. foreign affairs. This kind of "layman interfering with insiders" behavior has been constantly criticized, but it is one of the important features of the American system, that is, it forms a restriction on the government. I believe Texas Senator Cornyn's threat will be difficult to achieve. In the United States, it is the Bush administration's strategy to link arms sales to Taiwan with U.S. economic benefits. At that time, the U.S. economy was weak in recovery, and Bush Sr., who was running for re-election, was facing a disadvantage in the election. At the same time, under pressure from anti-China and pro-Taiwan forces and U.S. military-industrial interest groups, he announced the sale of 150 F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, which plunged Sino-U.S. relations into crisis. However, in the end, this move did not have much effect on Bush Sr.'s campaign. The economic difficulties faced by Obama are even worse than those faced by Bush Sr., but Sino-US relations are completely different from those during the Bush Sr. era. The degree of interdependence between China and the United States in economic and other fields is also unmatched by the Bush Sr. era. Recently, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Matthew Harper published an article in the "Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute" saying that if a military conflict breaks out between China and the United States, American supermarket shelves will be empty in just a few days. This is not alarmist. In the era of globalization, the vital economic ties between the United States and China mean that even the brewing of a military conflict will have serious consequences. The empty shelves are just a small metaphor. The rest include the stock market, the interests of multinational companies, etc., and more seriously, it has an impact on the entire world economy. The final result can only be a lose-lose situation. Of course, the Taiwan lobby will continue to lobby Taiwan arms sales "fans" among members of Congress, and military-industrial interest groups will continue to exert pressure. However, with Bush Sr. and other examples before him, Obama cannot risk a new crisis in Sino-US relations and sell F16C/D fighters to Taiwan. China's ambassador to the United States has recently warned about possible new arms sales to Taiwan. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan will bring many challenges to Sino-US relations and may seriously interfere with the positive momentum of cross-strait relations and the development of Sino-US relations. Obama should also understand that if a new serious Sino-US crisis occurs, it will not be beneficial to his re-election.