Not long ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced sanctions against 3 US military giants involved in arms sales to Taiwan, which has been analyzed on the island.
On the day China announced sanctions, the United States increased its weight again, announcing a new arms sales plan and selling 100 sets of "Harpoon" shore-based missile systems to Taiwan. This move is bound to have a major impact on the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
The use of arms sales to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries is a routine that the United States has played for decades.
The United States announced the sale of 100 sets of "Harpoon" shore-based missile systems to Taiwan. Image source: Foreign media
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At present, the threshold for the production of weapons and equipment is getting higher and higher, and there are not many countries and regions in the world that can independently meet the needs of national defense. The "seller's market" character of the arms trade is becoming more pronounced.
As the world's largest arms exporter, in order to meet its own hegemonic needs, the United States has made sufficient efforts in foreign arms sales.
U.S. foreign arms sales are graded. There are not many top VIP customers, such as the United Kingdom can share the Trident ICBM with the United States, and Israel can get the source code of the most advanced F-35A fighter.
To maintain VIP status, some costs are essential. The United States generally does not feel too embarrassed for VIP customers, but if the relationship between the two is not so ironclad, buyers should be careful. The weight of the Big Stick in the United States is uncertain, and the taste of Turkey must be deeply experienced.
Israeli F-35 fighter "Adele" (Source: foreign media)
Turkey is a NATO ally of the United States and initially an important supplier of spare parts for the F-35 series of fighter jets. From this detail alone, it can be seen that turkey once had a good position in the US global military alliance system.
The turning point came in 2017. Turkey announced the import of the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia, the US-Turkey relations took a sharp turn, and the US White House, state department, and defense department took turns to issue stern warnings to Turkey.
Eventually, Turkey resisted the pressure to receive the anti-aircraft missiles from Russia. Without saying a word, the United States directly kicked Turkey out of the F-35 fighter industry chain and withheld the F-35A fighter jet that had been produced for Turkey.
In terms of "punishing" Turkey through arms sales, the United States has shown two more hands: one is to limit Turkey's other ways of obtaining military equipment, and the other is to provide advanced weapons to Turkey's opponent Greece.
For example, the T-129, a Turkey-made armed attack helicopter supported by American technology and parts, has a very good comprehensive performance, and once received orders from the Pakistan Army. Since the CTS-800 turboshaft engine used in this model was purchased from the United States, when the United States decided to punish Turkey, Turkey could not obtain the engine normally, and the T-129 production was in trouble.
After being kicked out of the F-35 fighter industry chain, the upgrade plan of the main F-16 fighter of the Turkish Air Force was also cancelled by the United States. Interestingly, the United States agreed to upgrade the Greek Air Force's F-16 fighter to the level of the F-16V Viper fighter.
According to foreign media reports, the United States will approve the sale of 20 F-35A fighter jets to Greece, six of which were originally planned for Turkey - reselling military goods to Turkey's opponents.
The United States has also been treated this way by India. reason? The same is the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense missile system. When India decided to sign a procurement contract, U.S. officials warned that "the move will affect U.S.-India military cooperation."
Arms procurement is a matter within the sovereignty of one country, and turkey and India have no right to interfere where they purchase S-400s. However, through a series of arms sales operations, the United States intends to force the two countries to abandon the purchase of S-400, which reflects the word "hegemony".
Turkish T-129 gunship (Source: foreign media)
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Why can the United States arbitrarily interfere in other countries' arms procurement?
Because the United States has a long-arm jurisdiction bill called the "Sanctions against the Enemies of the United States Act". This concept must be familiar to everyone, and many Chinese companies such as Huawei and the French company Alstom mentioned in the "American Trap" are all victims.
In addition to the overt long-arm jurisdiction, there are also many arms sales interventions through covert operations, such as the "Iran-Contra" incident.
On November 4, 1986, Lebanese media revealed that the United States had secretly sold weapons and equipment to Iran, and McFarland, former assistant to the US president for national security affairs, was involved. This report was confirmed by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament. The incident continued to ferment, resulting in a crisis in the Reagan administration, which is comparable to the "Watergate Incident".
The complication of the Iran-Contra affair was that the United States not only secretly sold arms to Iran, but also used the proceeds to fund the Nicaraguan rebels. From 1979 to 1990, Nicaragua's 11-year civil war brought endless suffering to the local population, and the United States, which sold arms, played a very disgraceful role.
Of course, the United States has not played such a role. Many people may have seen a Hollywood movie, "The King of War." In the film, Nicolas Cage plays arms dealer Yuri and tells Interpol:
"The United States is the world's largest arms dealer, selling more arms in a day than anyone else sells in a year. There are those who are enemies of the enemies of the United States and need 'demons' like us when it comes to supporting an army that the government cannot openly support. ”
Nicaraguan Civil War (Source: Foreign Media)
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In addition to real money and silver transactions, the United States also has a way of selling foreign arms: gratuitous gifts.
This approach is suitable for countries with limited economic power, especially when economic interests are secondary and geopolitical interests are key.
For example, after the 2016 South China Sea arbitration, the United States has been changing the foreign policy of some countries by donating weapons and equipment. In 2017 and 2019, the United States donated two Hamilton-class ocean-going patrol ships to Vietnam on two occasions; in 2018, the United States donated a batch of OV-10 Mustang attack aircraft to the Philippines.
This is part of the U.S. gift of weapons and equipment to countries bordering the South China Sea, with the intention of maintaining "friendly relations" between the U.S. military and the armed forces of these countries, and changing the foreign policy of the aforementioned countries through the military's influence over the government.
The Hamilton-class ocean-going patrol vessels enhance Vietnam's maritime power, and the OV-10 attack aircraft enhances the Philippines' maritime and air patrol capabilities, sending a message to both countries that they might as well be bolder and more aggressive in the South China Sea.
In the final analysis, the United States has never made a "deal" at a loss, and it has exerted the value of weapons and equipment to the limit. The reason why the United States continues to "cut sausages" to sell arms to Taiwan is to gamble that Chinese mainland will swallow the bitter fruit of US arms sales to Taiwan, which is "a million profits" for the United States.
However, there is a saying that "treats the way of man, and treats his body.". China has recently raised the cost of US arms sales to Taiwan, and as the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said, China's sanctions will definitely make the United States feel pain. Because, in the face of hegemony, they have to use the way they "understand."
Vietnam's Hamilton-class ocean-going patrol ship (Source: foreign media)
Text/Reading River Lord
Editing/Unscrupulous, Cloud Song