US OKs $425M in Arms Sales to Taiwan   12/07 06:15

   The Biden administration on Tuesday signed off on two new significant arms 
sales to Taiwan in approvals that are sure to rankle China.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Biden administration on Tuesday signed off on two new 
significant arms sales to Taiwan in approvals that are sure to rankle China.

   The State Department said it had okayed sales worth more than $425 million 
of spare aircraft parts to support Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighters, C-130 
transport planes and other U.S.-supplied weapons systems.

   The package includes $330 million in standard replacement parts and $98 
million in non-standard equipment along with related accessories and logistics.

   The sales were announced just weeks after President Joe Biden met his 
Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for talks in Indonesia in which China's 
increasingly aggressive behavior toward Taiwan was a major issue.

   China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has vowed to reunify the 
island with the mainland by force, if necessary. It has roundly condemned 
previous U.S. arms sales to Taiwan as violations of Washington's "one-China 
policy" and is expected to react similarly to Tuesday's announcement.

   But successive U.S. administrations of both parties have said ties with 
Taiwan are governed by the Taiwan Relations Act that allows the sale of 
military equipment to the island for its defense against potential threats from 
China.

   "This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests 
by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to maintain a credible 
defensive capability," the State Department said of the latest approvals.

   "The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and 
assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic 
progress in the region," it said, adding that it would also "contribute to the 
sustainment of the recipient's aerial fleet, enhancing its ability to meet 
current and future threats while providing defensive and transport capabilities 
critical to regional security."