The Biden administration on Friday announced more than $1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan as US-China tensions escalate over the island’s status. The $1.09 billion sale includes $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, however, is a $655 million logistics 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 is 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 comply with the U.S.’s one-China policy. He also urged Beijing to “stop military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead start a meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” 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 air and sea presence around Taiwan — and engages in efforts to change the status quo in Taiwan Narrowly, we provide 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 last month. 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. The sides split after a civil war in 1949 and have no formal relations, with China even cutting off informal contacts after the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Tsai’s government has pushed for a boost in anti-drone defenses 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 ($13.8 billion). The US described Chinese exercises last month 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.
