U.S. to sell Taiwan $180 million in advanced torpedoes

Congress has been informed that the U.S. government is preparing for a possible sale of $180 million of advanced torpedoes to Taiwan.

The sale would further increase tensions between the United States and China, already frayed but the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. has no official diplomatic ties with the island nation claimed by China as its own territory, but international law requires the global community to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

According to a statement from the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the sale would be for 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes.

China regularly condemns the U.S. sale of weapons to Taiwan. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry lodged a complaint to his D.C.-counterparts about the potential sale.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen was sworn in Wednesday for her second term in office. She rejects China’s claims of control over the nation and calls Taiwan an independent nation that does not wish to be governed by Beijing.

Since Tsai’s reelection, China has increased its surveillance of the democratic nation and run several military drills that involve sending fighter jets into Taiwan’s airspace and circling the island with warships.