The Taiwanese authorities are negotiating with the United States on arms supplies worth $ 500 million. This was stated by the head of the administration of the island, Tsai Ing-wen, on May 20.
According to her, this assistance is mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and other factors that have led to delays in the supply of military equipment, Reuters reports.
Tsai Ing-wen said that the Taiwanese national security agencies and the defense ministry, together with the American side, are negotiating on the relevant issue, TASS writes.
On May 6, Bloomberg reported that the United States is preparing a package of military assistance for Taiwan, which the American administration intends to transfer under an accelerated procedure. Already, the country's congress has authorized the American president to direct up to $1 billion from the country's reserves to "support island democracy."
Before that, on April 6, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China would not make concessions on the Taiwan issue. According to him, "anyone who expects China to make concessions is indulging in unrealistic dreams."
The escalation of the conflict between China and Taiwan occurred after the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to the island in August 2022. The Chinese side considers Taiwan to be its territory, therefore it considers visiting the island by officials of other countries as support for Taiwan's independence.
The island of Taiwan has been governed by an independent administration since 1949, when the Kuomintang forces led by General Chiang Kai-shek, who lost the civil war with the Communist Party of China, moved to Taiwan. Contacts between the island and mainland China later resumed.