ANNUAL REPORT

384
trade-based partner to an innovation partner of the United
States. 223 Cooperation in R&D between the United States and Taiwan
is strong. U.S. companies HP, DuPont, and Dell have R&D
centers in Taiwan; and Google and IBM have cloud computing centers
in Taiwan. 224 The U.S. and Taiwan governments hosted the
inaugural U.S.-Taiwan Digital Economy Forum in December 2015.
In an upcoming meeting later this year, both sides will continue to
focus on bilateral collaboration on cross-border ICT applications,
legal and regulatory frameworks, the expansion of global ICT
connectivity, data privacy, and intellectual property protection. 225
Military and Security Cooperation
U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation includes arms sales, training,
advising, exchanges, and equipment maintenance. 226 This partnership
helps Taiwan enhance its ability to deter and, if necessary, defend
against an attack from the Chinese military.
On December 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of State notified
Congress * that it had approved the potential sale of $1.83 billion
in arms to Taiwan, 227 including the following items: (1) two refurbished
and upgraded OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class guided-missile
frigates; (2) AAV–7 amphibious assault vehicles; (3) Javelin
antitank missiles; (4) BGM–71F tube-launched, optically-tracked,
wireless-guided (TOW) antitank missiles; (5) man-portable Stinger
missiles; (6) MK–15 Phalanx close-in weapons systems (CIWS); (7)
Multifunctional Information Distribution System Low Volume Terminals
(MIDS/LVT–1) and Joint Tactical Information Distribution
System (JTIDS) data communications support; and (8) Taiwan Advanced
Tactical Data Link System (TATDLS) and Link-11 communication
systems integration (see Table 1). 228
This most recent notification brings the value of the Obama Administration’s
total notifications of Taiwan arms sales to Congress
to over $14 billion. 229 Despite the large value of arms sales notifications,
the Administration’s prior notification occurred more than
four years before in 2011. The package also did not include advanced
fighter aircraft and assistance to Taiwan’s indigenous submarine
program, in which Taiwan has expressed interest. Although
the time period between notifications to Congress was almost certainly
affected by concern within the executive branch about the
impact of arms sales to Taiwan on U.S.-China relations, 230 budgetary
constraints in Taiwan also likely were a factor. Ongoing payments
for U.S. weapons that were notified previously likely put
pressure on Taiwan’s budget. 231
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with USCC
* The executive branch is required to notify Congress of arms sales through the foreign military
sales process that meet or exceed the following values: $14 million in major defense equipment,
$50 million in defense articles or services, and $200 million in design and construction
services. Paul K. Kerr, ‘‘Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process,’’ Congressional Research
Service, April 19, 2016.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:49 Nov 01, 2016 Jkt 020587 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2016\FINAL\09_C3_M.XXX 09_C3_M