US approves $619 million arms sale to Taiwan: Japan and Biden’s irrationality
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The administration of President Joe Biden of America is not only irrational, but it is also dangerous for Northeast Asia. Under Biden, the most warmongering administration in recent history – and that says something concerning the recent legacies of endless wars: America is creating a new military arms race and pushing the nuclear powers of China and the Russian Federation to the brink of conflict.
The irrationality is summed up by the “colonial mindset of the Democrats.” Accordingly, America warned China not to sell military weapons to the Russian Federation. Then, in the same timeframe, Biden approves a $619 million arms deal with Taiwan.
Taiwan will likely purchase hundreds of missiles for F-16 fighter jets and other military hardware aimed at China (two hundred anti-aircraft Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), one hundred AGM-88B HARM missiles, and other military hardware).
At the same, Japan is also increasing its military budget under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. More alarmingly, Japan isn’t only re-arming on a scale not seen since the post-war period: but with the encouragement of the Biden administration, Kishida continues to lambast China and the Russian Federation – thereby straining relations with both nations.
Kyodo News reports, “Japan’s fiscal health is the worst among major developed nations, with debt more than twice the size of its economy, the world’s third-largest.”
Accordingly, Japan should be focused on economic revitalization. Instead, Kishida is further burdening the economy of a nation with the highest ratio of debt of any developed country in the world. Therefore, a military arms race under Biden is the last thing Japan needs.
NHK reports, “Japan and the United States say they are reorganizing their defense cooperation to be more effective. This comes as Tokyo is strengthening its capability to respond to attacks, and as both countries say they want to counter China’s attempts to change the status quo.”
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned, the Kishida administration is “rejecting the country’s peaceful development… (and) has embarked on the path of an unprecedented build-up of its military power, including strike potential.”
Zakharova continued that Japan is “returning to unlimited militarization, which will inevitably provoke new security challenges and exacerbate tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The defense budget under Biden will reach a staggering $858 billion this year. On top of this, the Biden administration is sending tens of billions of military aid to Ukraine and is increasingly encroaching on China’s geopolitical space.
Reuters reports, “The arms sales are likely to further sour already tense ties between Washington and Beijing, which has repeatedly demanded such deals stop, viewing them as unwarranted support for democratically governed Taiwan, an island China claims as its own territory.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China reports, “The US keeps saying that territorial sovereignty must be respected, but on the Taiwan question, the US has been walking on the edge and pushing the envelope. The US has broken its own political commitments and has been selling sophisticated weapons to China’s Taiwan region. The US says there’s desire for peace to prevail, yet it has waged wars and stoked confrontation around the world. The US says it’s important to respect and uphold the international order, yet it has slapped massive unilateral illegal sanctions and put its domestic laws above international law. The US says competition must be fair, yet it has been cracking down on foreign companies by using all kinds of state apparatus and defying international trade rules.”
Mao Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, “I want to emphasize that the Asia-Pacific is not a battlefield for geopolitical rivalry and confrontation between the camps with Cold War mentality is not welcomed.”
Since Biden came to power, it is clear that America, NATO, and Japan are collectively seeking to alter the regional dynamics of Northeast Asia and the geopolitical space of both China and the Russian Federation through their constant hostile postures and deeds.
Northeast Asian nations need to build trust instead of the “divisionist dream” of America. Even the late Shinzo Abe sought cordial relations with the Russian Federation. However, Kishida is joining the military arms race in Northeast Asia (despite the dire economic condition of Japan) concerning the containment policies of America aimed at China and the Russian Federation.
Biden authorized approximately $10 billion in funding to boost the capability of Taiwan to defend itself. This funding is a five-year plan – and negates likely future military contracts between America and Taiwan.
The latest military sales to Taiwan sum up the relentless posturing of the Biden administration.
The fear is that endless militarization and economic sanctions will lead to a spark. Also, unlike mainland America, Japan shares the same geopolitical space as China, the Russian Federation, and Taiwan.
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202303/t20230302_11034321.html
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