Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/27
By: Sophia Yeh and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) The United States has never said that it will stop selling weapons to Taiwan, William Stanton, former director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), said Friday, adding that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are necessary.

He also noted the U.S.’s Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), saying that he felt U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are necessary.

Stanton, now senior vice president for global affairs at National Tsing Hua University in the northern city of Hsinchu, was responding to reporters’ questions about an article written by Bloomberg View columnist Josh Rogin that said the U.S. government is close to announcing a US$1 billion arms deal with Taiwan.

“Washington will likely offer Taipei transfers of missile frigates, about a dozen AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles, one replacement AH-64 Apache helicopter and munitions including Stinger, Javelin and TOW missiles,” Rogin wrote in his Nov. 25 column, citing unnamed U.S. officials.     [FULL  STORY]