“I can say there is a correlation, I can’t say it is the cause, but you cannot say the opposite — that arms sales are a detriment to cross-strait breakthroughs and improvements,” he said.
Schriver said he worried that in the event of abandonment, with Taiwan’s defenses left weakened, China would lose patience and the situation could become dangerous if Taipei did not move toward unification or political reconciliation.
“Does the military option become more attractive over time if Taiwan’s defenses are weakening and PRC [People’s Republic of China] defenses are growing stronger?” Schriver asked.
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