Previously, in late November, the United States had also approved the sale of extra parts for F-16 jets and radars to the Chinese-claimed country for about $385 million. This included $320 million of spare parts, F-16 equipment, support for Active Electronically Scanned Array Radars, and other equipment.
Furthermore, the State Department had permitted the sale of mobile subscriber tools and equipment for around $65 million. The US is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with defence, despite there barely being any formal relations between the two, a factor that is a frequent irritant to China.
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Taiwan, run by a democratic government, resists China’s claims over it.
Recently, China has been showing signs of increasing military power as a way of pressuring Taiwan, including war displays twice in 2024.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has said previously, “Taiwan and the United States will continue to strengthen their security partnership and work together to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.”
Even before this, the US had declared a potential sale of arms of $2 billion to Taiwan, including an advanced air defence missile system.
China for its part had cautioned the United States against forming close relations with Taiwan.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
