Washington: The Trump administration has approved the sale of more than a billion dollars worth of advanced weaponry for Taiwan in a move that will enrage China and further exacerbate tensions between Washington and Beijing that have are already heated over issues such as trade, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
The State Department announced on Wednesday it had greenlighted the sale of 135 precision land-attack missiles, associated equipment and training to Taiwan to improve its defence capabilities. The package is worth just over a billion dollars, it said in a statement. The missiles are made by Boeing.
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“This proposed 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 said in a statement. “The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability" as well as military balance and economic progress in the region.