One of Beijing's top priorities is to cut off Taiwan's access to sophisticated military hardware. As late as 1991, some 20 countries supplied Taiwan with arms. Today, the United States is virtually the only supplier. Germany agreed to stop arms sales to Taiwan in 1993. France, which had sold 60 Mirage fighters to Taiwan, stopped in 1998.
Few governments contemplate defying Beijing's wishes.
Even the United States has bowed to the pressure. Although the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act obligates Washington to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, Washington's performance has been erratic. Indeed, in the August 1982 U.S.-PRC communique, the Reagan administration promised to decrease and ultimately eliminate arms sales to Taiwan. American officials have insisted that the pledge was contingent on Beijing's commitment to avoid using force to resolve the Taiwan issue. Chinese leaders interpret the communique provision as an ironclad, unconditional U.S. pledge to phase out arms shipments.