The Biden administration announced a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan on Friday evening.
The move, which is the first time the United States has transferred weapons to Taiwan under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the U.S. to pull equipment directly from its existing stockpiles and provide it to them, will all but certainly anger Beijing at a time when the administration is seeking to get on better terms.
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Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners said the package “includes self-defense capabilities that Taiwan will be able to use to build … to bolster deterrence now and in the future," and noted the systems include “critical defensive stockpiles, multi-domain awareness, anti-armor and air defense capabilities,” according to CNN.
Providing the equipment through the president's drawdown authority allows the U.S. to get the weapons to Taiwan much faster than the alternatives. Previously, the U.S. has allowed Taiwan to purchase weapons from the country, though this process takes much longer than delivering the equipment directly from U.S. stockpiles.
“With respect to Taiwan, the capability that we are providing them is defensive capability. As you know, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, we are committed to helping them get the capability they need to defend themselves,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during a press conference on Saturday.
A top Department of Defense official met with a Chinese government representative earlier this month in what was the first official meeting between the Pentagon and Beijing since November. The military-to-military relationship soured when the U.S. uncovered a Chinese spy balloon traversing the continental U.S., even flying over sensitive U.S. military locations. The U.S. ultimately shot it down once it reached the Atlantic Ocean.
Chinese military leaders had been giving their U.S. counterparts the silent treatment for months until the meeting earlier this month between Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng.
U.S. defense officials have repeatedly warned over the last couple of months that the silence from Chinese military leaders only increases the possibility of a miscommunication that could lead to a consequential escalation between the two global powers.
They discussed "defense relations, as well as a range of international and regional security issues. Ratner also underscored the Department’s commitment to maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC," Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners said in a readout of the meeting.
Defense officials have warned for months that the lack of communication could lead to an unintended incident or escalation.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken delayed a scheduled trip to Beijing in February following the spy balloon incident, though last month, he ultimately became the first top U.S. official to make the journey to the Chinese capital in five years. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen followed soon after, as did Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
China has been modernizing and expanding its military for years, and its military posture toward Taiwan has grown increasingly aggressive. Chinese leaders have publicly said they want the military to be ready to invade Taiwan for unification by 2027.