US prepares $1.5b arms sale to Taiwan, the largest in 2 years

BEIJING • The Biden administration is preparing to sell US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in missiles and radar support to Taiwan, according to an official familiar with the matter, in what would be the largest such transfer in almost two years.

The package would include as much as US$650 million in continued support for a surveillance radar sold earlier and about US$90 million for roughly 100 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, as well as about 60 additional anti-ship Harpoon missiles, the official said.

Both weapons have been sold to Taiwan previously.

The US State Department informally notified Congress of the sale late on Monday.

Even though it would offer Taiwan no new military capability, the move could prompt protests from Beijing, which has said American arms sales to Taipei are a threat to its security and a violation of the agreements that established diplomatic relations with Washington.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary.

China's Foreign Affairs Ministry called on the United States to stop arms sales and military contact with Taiwan in a statement sent to Bloomberg yesterday.

"China firmly opposes the US selling arms to China's Taiwan region," the ministry said.

"This is consistent and clear."

The notification from the State Department of the planned arms sale marks the beginning of several weeks of staff consultations that will result in a formal proposal from the department.

With support for Taiwan running high among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the package will likely face little resistance from lawmakers.

A separate person familiar with the matter said there had been several conversations between the administration and Congress about arms sales to Taiwan.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council, who asked not to be identified, said that the US would continue to fulfil its responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act to support the island's self-defence.

A State Department spokesman said that as a matter of policy, the department does not publicly comment on or confirm proposed defence sales until Congress has been formally notified about them.

The sale would be the largest such move since a US$2.4 billion deal including Harpoon missiles in October 2020, and the largest since US President Joe Biden took office.

The President is facing calls to accelerate US weapon transfers to Taiwan to deter China from acting militarily against the self-ruled island and to avoid a repeat of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Taiwan's armed forces are well equipped but dwarfed by China's forces.

The island last week proposed raising its total spending on the military by almost 14 per cent next year.

Earlier this month, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official in a quarter-century to visit Taiwan, prompting Beijing to conduct military drills and fire missiles over the island for the first time.

Chinese warplanes flew across the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait - once a rare occurrence - on all but one day since Mrs Pelosi's arrival on Aug 2.

Since then, Democrat Senator Ed Markey, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, have also made high-profile trips to Taiwan.

BLOOMBERG