The U.S. approves a $385M arms sale to Taiwan, including F-16 parts, amid China's growing military pressure and Taiwan's Pacific tour led by President Lai Ching-te.
WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of spare parts for F-16 jets and radars to Taiwan for an estimated $385 million, the Pentagon said on Friday, a day before Taiwan President Lai Ching-te starts a sensitive Pacific trip.
The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei, to the constant anger of Beijing.
Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China's claims of sovereignty.
China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including two rounds of war games this year, and security sources have told Reuters that Beijing may hold more to coincide with Lai's tour of the Pacific, which includes stopovers in Hawaii and Guam, a U.S. territory.
The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the sale consisted of $320 million in spare parts and support for F-16 fighters and Active Electronically Scanned Array Radars and related equipment.
The State Department also approved the potential sale to Taiwan of improved mobile subscriber equipment and support for an estimated $65 million, the Pentagon said. The principal contractor for the $65 million sale is General Dynamics GD.N.
Taiwan's defense ministry said it expected the sales to "take effect" within a month and that the equipment will help maintain the F-16 fleet's readiness and "build up a credible defense force".
"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," it said in a statement.
Last month, the United States announced a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defense missile system battle tested in Ukraine.
Lai leaves for Hawaii on Saturday on what is officially a stopover on the way to Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of the 12 countries that still to have formal diplomatic ties with Taipei. He will also stop over in Guam.
Hawaii and Guam are home to major U.S. military bases.
China on Friday urged the United States to exercise "utmost caution" in its relations with Taiwan.
The State Department said it saw no justification for what it called a private, routine and unofficial transit by Lai to be used as a pretext for provocation.
Small businesses across Russia are increasingly feeling the impact of tighter internet restrictions, including ...
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has reaffirmed the island’s commitment to sovereignty and regional ...
The global housing crisis has reached what UN officials describe as “staggering” proportions, with nearly...
The 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) opened in Baku with ministers, UN officials and urban policy leaders. Participants call for ...
Thousands of displaced families in Gaza are facing growing infestations of rats and insects as worsening sanita...
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has reaffirmed the island’s commitment to sovereignty and regional stability following the recent meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to project stability and renewed dialogue during a closely watched summit in Beijing this week, even as major disagreements over Taiwan, trade and global security remained unresolved.
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday (15 May) to wrap up a two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals but also a warning from Xi that mishandling the Taiwan issue could send relations spiraling.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing next week on a two-day visit, his first trip to China in eight years. Delayed for two months by the Iran conflict, Taiwan, industrial matters, and the Strait of Hormuz are likely to dominate the talks.
Bulgaria has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, taking victory in a final overshadowed by a boycott over Israel’s participation and the war in Gaza.
At least eight people were injured after a driver rammed a car into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena, authorities said on Saturday. Four of the victims were reported to be in serious condition.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington could destroy Iran’s infrastructure “in two days,” while Tehran warned the U.S. would face growing economic costs from the conflict. The remarks came as Hezbollah reported new attacks on Israeli forces despite an extended Lebanon ceasefire.
At least eight people have died and 32 others were injured after a freight train collided with a public bus at a railway crossing in Bangkok on Saturday (16 May), triggering a fire that quickly spread through the vehicle.
U.S. President Donald Trump says China's Xi Jinping agreed Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran prepares a new shipping mechanism. Tensions over the U.S. blockade and stalled nuclear talks continue to disrupt global oil supplies.
Small businesses across Russia are increasingly feeling the impact of tighter internet restrictions, including limits on the messaging app Telegram, stricter controls on virtual private networks, and repeated mobile internet outages.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has reaffirmed the island’s commitment to sovereignty and regional stability following the recent meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
At least four people have been killed in a major Ukrainian drone attack on Russian territory, including the Moscow region, which authorities say faced its largest aerial assault in more than a year.
China has launched the world’s first experiment to study how artificial human embryos develop in space, marking a major step in understanding whether humans could one day reproduce beyond Earth.
Every day, an elderly woman in China’s Shandong province looks forward to a video call from her son. He asks about her health, tells her he has been busy with work, and promises he will come home once he has saved enough money. She tells him she misses him. He tells her to take care of herself.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment