US Approves $2 Billion in New Arms Deals for Taiwan

On Friday, the State Department approved two potential arms deals for Taiwan worth about $2 billion, drawing a sharp rebuke from China.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said one deal is for three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and related equipment and has an estimated cost of $1.16 billion. The other deal is for radar systems and is worth about $828 million.

The approval of the arms sales begins a period when Congress could potentially block the deals. But the sales are not expected to face any opposition since there is strong bipartisan support for arming Taiwan.

In response to the approval of the arms sales, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China “strongly condemns and firmly opposes it, and has lodged solemn representations with the US” and warned Beijing will “take all necessary measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”