US President Joe Biden has ordered the allocation of $567 million in military assistance to Taiwan, according to a statement by the American leader released by the White House.
⠀
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America… I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authority… to direct the appropriation of up to $567 million for Department of Defense defense items and services and for military education and training to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the statement said.
⠀
Beijing considers Taiwan an integral part of the PRC, and adherence to the “one China” principle is a prerequisite for other states wishing to establish or maintain diplomatic relations with the PRC. The “one China” principle and non-recognition of Taiwan’s independence are also observed by the United States, despite the fact that they maintain close contacts with Taipei in various fields and supply the island with weapons.
⠀
The situation around Taiwan escalated after Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited the island in early August 2022. China, which considers the island part of its territory, condemned Pelosi’s visit as US support for Taiwanese separatism and held large-scale military exercises.
⠀
Official relations between the central government of the PRC and its island province were interrupted in 1949 after the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek, defeated in the civil war with the Communist Party of China, moved to Taiwan. Business and informal contacts between the island and mainland China resumed in the late 1980s. Since the early 1990s, the parties began to contact through non-governmental organizations – the Beijing Association for the Development of Cross-Strait Relations (ATR) and the Taipei Cross-Taiwan Strait Exchange Foundation (TSF).
