US approves $360M sale of drones, missiles to Taiwan
President Biden’s administration approved the sale of $360 million worth of drones, missiles and other military equipment to Taiwan on Tuesday.
The sale comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China. Beijing has long criticized Western support for Taiwan, though it has yet to publicly address this week’s sale.
The sale includes 291 Altius-600M systems, which are unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, with warheads. It also includes 720 Switchblade drones known as “extended-range loitering munitions,” the State Department said.
Biden’s administration argued the sale “serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.”
It went on to say that the sale would “help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the department said.
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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-Te thanked the U.S. for the sale in a Wednesday press conference, vowing to “continue to strengthen Taiwan’s national defense strength.”
The sale comes after months of the Biden administration attempting to ease tensions with Beijing.
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Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face in California late last year. The pair had gone a full year without speaking prior to the meeting, and Biden said “real progress” was made in U.S.-China relations.
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Xi’s regime has long promised that Taiwan would be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. The island split from Beijing in 1949, when pro-democracy forces fled there after losing a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.