MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

US arms sale to Taiwan symbolizes how US exports both war and weapons. (Photo: Alan Wu)

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China lodged an official protest against the Obama administration's announcement that Taiwan has been cleared to purchase $1.83 billion in US arms, according to The New York Times:

The Obama administration’s announcement that it would sell $1.83 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, including two warships and antitank missiles, has drawn a swift rebuke from China, which threatened to penalize the companies that made the armaments and summoned a United States diplomat to register an official protest.

Although the sale is not remarkably large as far as US weaponry is concerned, it is of value to look at the transaction in the context of US weapons sales.

In the last two years, we have repeatedly noted how the US economy is heavily invested in the so-called "defense industry.”

A BuzzFlash commentary this summer reported on a National Priorities Project analysis which found that 54 percent of all US government discretionary spending in 2015 - more than $598 billion dollars - is going to the military. That does not include funding for intelligence agencies (such as the CIA and NSA, which receive tens of billions of dollars), nor does it include the supplemental funds that were used to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are still not over.

Funding for the military-industrial-complex is also buried in other congressionally budgeted line items, particularly when it comes to covert programs.

War - or just ratcheting up the potential for conflict through stockpiling armaments - is profitable. For example, the National Priorities Project found that Lockheed Martin "saw over $5.5 billion in profit, and paid its CEO more than $34 millionin 2014. And the $32 billion it received from the U.S. government made up more than seventy percent of its total sales."

For the US government and many corporations, there is a plus side to war: Increased conflict increases arms sales to foreign powers - and increased corporate profits. We export war, and we export weapons. As The New York Times reported in April, the "sale of US arms fuels the wars of Arab states":

As the Middle East descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled American military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defense contractors looking for foreign business.

Also in April of this year, a Fiscal Times article succinctly stated that the "US defense industry outperforms S&P by 100 percent." The Fiscal Times cites a recent increase in the defense budgets of many nations:

In the Middle East in particular, defense spending has continued at a strong pace, with several countries in the region dedicating more than 5 percent of their GDP to defense spending, while Oman and Saudi Arabia both spend more than 10 percent of GDP on national security.

The war in Iraq brought on a seemingly indefinite state of "insecurity" in the Middle East, creating the need for increased weapons purchases from the US, which is the largest seller of military arms in the world.

Before returning to the sales of weapons - including two warships - to Taiwan, it's telling to look at the US export/import gap. Although the trade deficit narrowed in September, the ongoing large trade gap that the US has experienced for years is likely to increase in the long run, according to The Wall Street Journal:

"The broader trend in the real goods deficit points to the likelihood that net trade will be a drag on growth in coming quarters," Barclays economist Jesse Hurwitz said in a note to clients. "With slower growth abroad dampening demand for U.S. exports and solid domestic consumption supporting imports, we do not expect the deficit to continue to narrow in the coming months."

The US government Bureau of Economic Analysis issued a news release on December 4 that offered insight into the gaping US trade chasm: "The average goods and services deficit increased $0.5 billion to $45.1 billion [per month] for the three months ending in October."

Given this economic context, the US government sees the domestic armaments industry as one of the few "stars" in keeping the import/export deficit from widening even more. As a result, it's basically official US policy to assist US "defense contractors" in selling weapons of war abroad, thus inflaming the potential for conflict.

Although there are certainly political advocates for arming Taiwan, dating back to the days when China was touted as a Communist foe - before it became a one-party capitalist provider of inexpensive labor and products to the United States - it is certain that the cash that will be paid by the island nation is a key factor in the arms sales

Although armed conflict between the US and China is unlikely at this point or in the near future, there has been some military taunting between China and other nations in the Pacific in the past couple of years.

As China continues to profit from what Fortune called an "an all-time high" US trade deficit with Beijing, the US is hoping that weaponizing the world will help reduce the gap.

Not to be reposted without the permission of Truthout.