On July 8, 2019, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a branch of the United States Department of Defense, alerted Congress of its plans to sell $2.2 billion worth of arms to Taiwan. The sale, which will provide Taiwan with battle tanks and anti-aircraft missiles in order to bolster the island's defensive capabilities, has drawn criticism from China. Following the DSCA announcement, Geng Shuang, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, asserted that the deal signified U.S. interference in the internal affairs of China and threatened its security interests. Although Taiwan has been self-governed since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China considers Taiwan to be a part of the greater People's Republic.
The DSCA proposal comes amid growing tensions between the United States and China, which have been engaged in an escalating trade war. It also marks the first major U.S. sale to Taiwan in several decades. Notably, the Taiwan Relations Act, passed in 1979, requires the United States to provide Taiwan with defensive arms - a provision intended to safeguard the island from Chinese attacks.
