U.S. Arms Sale to Taiwan Proceeds Over China Protest

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Revelation 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like to serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

clipped from www.businessweek.com March 1 (Bloomberg) -- A proposed U.S. sale to Taiwan of missiles, helicopters and ships valued at about $6.4 billion will go forward. The House and Senate foreign affairs committees took no action on the proposal during the 30-day window for objection that ended yesterday, thereby allowing it to proceed in the face of protests from China. “It’s cleared so we are moving forward to put together the paperwork that will eventually be the letter of offer to Taiwan,” Defense Security Cooperation Agency spokesman Paul Ebner said. The U.S. Defense Department wants to sell Taiwan the most advanced Patriot anti-missile system, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. The system, valued at $2.8 billion, would add to Taiwan’s network of 22 missile sites around the country to defend against a Chinese attack. The U.S. arms sales to the island nation have irritated China so much that it cut off military talks after the last sale was announced in October 2008

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China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S.

clipped from www.reuters.com BEIJING (Reuters) - Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defense spending, adjust PLA deployments, and possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan. The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island came from officers at China's National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences, interviewed by Outlook Weekly, a Chinese-language magazine published by the official Xinhua news agency. The warnings from the PLA come after weeks of strains between Washington and Beijing, who have also been at odds over Internet controls and hacking, trade and currency quarrels, and President Barack Obama's planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China as a "separatist." China is likely to unveil its official military budget for 2010 next month, when the Communist Party-controlled national parliament meets for its annual session.

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UPDATE 1-Taiwan says to buy miltary helicopters from Europe

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clipped from www.reuters.com * Up to 20 search-and-rescue choppers sought - Defense News * China has blasted U.S. over planned arms package to Taiwan TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan said on Friday it would buy military helicopters from a European manufacturer, a move that could ignite China's anger toward Europe following a storm over U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own. China has blasted the United States over a planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan, saying it would place sanctions on U.S. firms that sell weapons to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province of China. [ID:nSGE6110AB] China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary. Taiwan seeks advanced foreign-made weapons to update its military, which lags China in the balance of power.

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