Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By staff writer
According to a recent report by Japanese media Nikkei, the US administration plans to send about 25 defense contractors on a visit to Taiwan “to discuss joint production of drones and ammunition.” This is another act of provocation aimed at pilling arms on the Island of Taiwan to support the cessation agenda of the Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen. Such act builds more tension between the US and China and a continued violation of the One Chine Principle.
According to Nikkei, the trip is planned to take place in early May, as informed by Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council. It is expected that the delegation will be headed by Steven Rudder, retired commander of the US Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. This will be the firstdefense industry visit to Taiwan since 2019.
The delegation is expected to hold talks with people from the defense industry of the island and may also meet with Tsai Ing-wen, regional leader of the island. Hammond-Chambers told the Japanese outlet the goal of the trip is “to promote defense industry cooperation with Taiwan.”
Hammond-Chambers said Taiwan is interested in airborne, surface, and underwater drones, in addition to ammunition. “The US delegation, which will contain several US defense contractors with drone expertise, will look for areas to provide advanced technology and jointly develop drones” with the relevant companies on the island, Nikkei report said.
Chinese military said that US defense contractors are just using the shortcomings of island’s military industry in the fields of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to cheat the secessionist authorities out of their money.
US defense contractors benefit from selling arms which escalates conflict, human rights abuses, and entangling the United States in unnecessary conflicts around the world.
US defense contractors benefit from selling arms which escalate conflict, human rights abuses, and entangling the United States in unnecessary warsaround the world.
Research show that the US arms policy and practice often fuel war rather than deterring it. About two-thirds of world conflicts involve one or more parties armed by the United States. In most cases US arms sales to combatants in these wars play a major role in fueling and sustaining the conflict. Of the US supplied nations at war, 15 received $50 million or more worth of US arms between 2017 and 2021. This contradicts the argument that US arms sales promote stability and deter conflict.
