US approves $1.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, angering China

The announcement of the sale comes one day after Taiwanese forces shot down an unidentified commercial drone amid a sudden spate of mysterious incursions that have unnerved the island following the earlier show of force by Beijing, which said it fired ballistic missiles over the capital Taipei.

The United States on Friday announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, vowing to keep boosting the island's defenses as tensions soar with Beijing, which warned Washington of "counter-measures."

The package -- the largest for Taiwan approved under President Joe Biden's administration -- includes $665 million for contractor support to maintain and upgrade a #raytheon early radar warning system in operation since 2013 that would warn Taiwan about an incoming attack.

Taiwan will also spend $355 million on 60 Harpoon Block II missiles, which can track and sink incoming vessels if China launches an assault by water.

The deal also includes $85.6 million for more than 100 #sidewinder missiles, a mainstay of Western militaries for their air-to-air firepower.

Taiwanese Presidential Office spokesman Chang Tun-han in a statement thanked the United States for its continued support for the island's #security and #defense .
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VIDEO: US approves $1.1 bn arms sale to Taiwan, tensions with China increase [@Oneindia news]
#taiwanstrait #taiwaneseADIZ #identificationzone #militarydrills #militaryplanes #PLAdrills #drones #KinmenIslands #taiwanesetroops #harpoonmissiles #missiles
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Taiwan shoots down for the 1st time unidentified drone over Kinmen islands, Shiyu Islet:
[https://youtu.be/8s2IDaXIRP8]
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Taiwan troops fire on Chinese drone for 1st time. The fire was a warning:
[https://youtu.be/nJ0yY0TjW4s]
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Chinese armed forces conducting drills near Penghu islands in Taiwan Strait:
[https://youtu.be/krmn1LZVw6g]
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Taiwan says China simulating Attack on its Main Island, fires Flares to warn Drones:
[https://youtu.be/4GRgHsLc-Bc]
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Kinmen and Matsu Islands: Taiwanese Seek Gun Training Amid China Threat:
[https://youtu.be/yy29h01ji8M]
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Chinese Missiles Strike Seas Off Taiwan (over Taiwan?) and in Japan’s EEZ for the 1st time:
[https://youtu.be/LD9tp5_gJkU]