The "Trump-Xi meeting" came on stage. However, before the meeting, it was reported that China cited the "817 Communique" to call on the United States to stop arms sales to China. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio even said that arms sales must be balanced with the war needs of the U.S. military. This was interpreted by the outside world as the Beijing authorities have the right to purchase our military, sparking discussion. Defense scholar Su Ziyun countered that the 817 Communiqué is not as effective as the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. The two are independent incidents and should not be over-interpreted. He also predicts that the second batch of arms sales is expected to occur before the U.S. midterm elections and will not yield to pressure from China.
Reuters reported that during his visit to Washington this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to quote the "817 Communiqué" signed by the United States and China in 1982 to pressure U.S. President Trump face-to-face to stop arms sales to Taiwan, and even further require the U.S. to stop delivering the arms that Taiwan has purchased in exchange for Beijing to put pressure on Iran and help ease the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The next day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accepted a joint interview with the media in New York (23rd local time). Regarding the arms sales to Taiwan that have not yet been approved by Congress, he emphasized that this mainly involves balancing the US industrial production capacity and defense industrial base. Each foreign arms sale must weigh the minimum combat needs of the conflict reported by US military combat commanders in various theaters around the world. "Therefore, we are in the process of this process", including Taiwan. As soon as these words came out, the opposition parties immediately criticized, believing that Taiwan-US relations were shaken.
In this regard, Su Ziyun, director of the Strategy and Resources Research Institute of the National Defense Security Research Institute, pointed out in an interview today (25th) that the US arms sales to Taiwan are protected by the "Taiwan Relations Act" and the "Six Assurances" US domestic law. In other words, the 1 quote cited by rumors that the Beijing authorities advocated that the US should stop arms sales The legal status of the "August 17 Communique" of 1982 is not as good as the first two. Whether the arms sale is finally established or not, the decision-making power is still in the hands of the US President. Thirty-five years ago in 1991, US President Bush announced the sale of 150 F-16A/B fighter jets to China. This is an example.
As for Rubio's statement that arms sales take into account the actual needs and strategic schedule of the US military, is it true? Su Ziyun gave an example. In March this year, Michael F. Miller, an official of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), together with Stanley L. Brown, a senior official of the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs of the U.S. State Department, and Michael Du Fei, undersecretary for acquisition and maintenance of the Department of War. Duffey attended a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing and stated that if the delivery sequence of the Harpoon missiles purchased by China would be better than that of Saudi Arabia, this also means that the United States has indeed considered the "regional security urgency" to flexible the sequence of arms sales and supply, and it does not mean that Taiwan-US relations have been shaken.
Regarding the outside interpretation that Beijing has the right to block U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with the "August 17 Communique", Su Ziyun bluntly said that Beijing intends to use political rhetoric to "confuse" international understanding. However, the two are essentially "independent incidents" and should not be compared. Domestic comments should return to objective facts. The White House has repeatedly stated that U.S. President Donald Trump will soon make a decision on arms sales to Taiwan. He speculates that this time point is expected to occur between the "Trump-Xi meeting" and the U.S. midterm elections in November.
