US defense official Abraham Denmark says that the US will continue to help Taiwan evaluate its needs for defensive weapons in order to deter external threats. Denmark was speaking at US think tank Heritage Foundation in Washington on Tuesday.
Mr. Denmark currently serves as US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia. He said that China has rapidly modernized its military in recent years and has increased its military presence in the Taiwan Strait area. According to Denmark, the Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military development says that China is mainly developing its missiles to prepare for potential conflict in the area.
Denmark said that US-Taiwan relations won’t be affected by tensions resulting from China’s regional influence. He said that the US continues to uphold the same Taiwan policy it has followed over the past several decades.
According to US media reports, the Obama administration will present the US Congress with an arms sales package for Taiwan in mid-December. The total value of the sale will be US$1 billion. This is the first US-to-Taiwan arms sale in four years. It is the longest interval since arms sale began under the provisions of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.