The sale included $355 million for Harpoon air-to-sea missiles and $85 million for Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, the State Department said. The biggest part of the sale is a $655 million logistics support package for Taiwan’s surveillance radar program, which provides air defense warnings. Early warning air defense systems have become more important as China has stepped up military exercises near Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province. The State Department said the equipment was necessary for Taiwan to “maintain an adequate self-defense capability.” The administration notified Congress of the sale after the close of business on Friday. The administration said the deals were in line with US one-China policy. He also urged Beijing to “stop military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead start a meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the arms sale “seriously endangers China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China will resolutely take legal and necessary countermeasures in light of the development of the situation.” Laura Rosenberger, the White House’s senior director for China and Taiwan, said late Friday that as China “continues to increase pressure on Taiwan — including through an increased military air and sea presence around Taiwan — and engages in efforts to change the status quo in Taiwan Strait, we are providing Taiwan with what it needs to maintain its self-defense capabilities.” Acrimony and heated rhetoric between the US and China over Taiwan have risen sharply since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August. Since Pelosi’s trip to Taipei, there have been at least two other visits to Congress and several by US state governors, all of which China has condemned. On Thursday, Taiwan’s military said it shot down a drone hovering over one of its island outposts just off the Chinese coast in an incident that underscored heightened tensions. A day earlier, Taiwan said it had warned of drones hovering over three of the islands it claims off the coast of the Chinese port city of Xiamen. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. China even cut off informal contacts after the 2016 election of Taiwan’s pro-independence president Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai’s government has pushed for a boost in anti-drone defense as part of a 12.9 percent increase in the defense ministry’s annual budget next year. This would boost defense spending by an additional NTD$47.5 billion ($1.6 billion), for a total of NTD$415.1 billion. The US described Chinese drills in August as a serious overreaction and responded by passing two guided-missile cruisers through the Taiwan Strait, which China has declared to be its sovereign waters. Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its thanks for the arms sale announcement, adding that China’s recent “provocative” activities posed a serious threat and the sale would help it counter China’s military pressure. “At the same time, it also proves that it will help our country strengthen its overall defense capabilities and jointly maintain security and peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.” The arms sales must be reviewed by the US Congress, but both Democratic and Republican congressional aides said they did not expect opposition. With the Associated Press and Reuters
