If the submarines go through, and that's a big if, it will cause a lot of problems between Washington and Beijing. The overall package appears likely to disappoint some American conservatives and other China critics, who had argued that even the Aegis system wouldn't be enough to protect Taiwan from a Chinese buildup in short-range missiles positioned within striking distance of Taiwan. China is increasing the number of those missiles, now estimated at 300, at a rate of about 50 a year. GOP leaders in Congress, however, supported the administration. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been a sticking point with Beijing since the United States and China normalized relations in 1979.
China believes that the U.S. sales make Taiwan less likely to enter talks on reunification.
He also cited the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which said that the United States should provide military systems and services required for the defense of Taiwan. Those developments contributed to the decision to provide the submarines, which were previously regarded as offensive weapons. The White House said the subs will be equipped with defensive weapons. The subs would most likely be built in the shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., home state of Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, whose father worked in the shipyard. The sub sale is complicated by the need for the United States to get designs from the Netherlands or Germany.