WASHINGTON — The State Department has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth a total of $1.4 billion, the first such deal with the self-governing island since President Donald Trump took office, officials said Thursday.
The sale will anger China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. It comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.
The sale to Taiwan comprises seven items, including technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles, according to a U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss the details before they were formally announced.
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State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration had notified Congress of its intent to approve seven proposed deals now valued at around $1.4 billion. Nauert said the approvals did not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs U.S. contacts with the island.
"It shows, we believe, our support for Taiwan's ability to maintain a sufficient self-defense policy," Nauert said. "There's no change, I should point out, to our 'one-China policy.'"
Lawmakers, which are generally strongly supportive of such sales, have 30 days to object. The U.S. is legally obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan for its self-defense.
The U.S. official said the sales represented upgrades, converting existing systems from analog to digital. The total includes roughly $1.3 million in transactions that are considered "foreign military sales," plus another commercial deal that also requires U.S. government approval and brings the total to $1.4 billion.
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The last U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, worth $1.8 billion, were announced in December 2015. They included two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and was the first sale for four years.
China objected strongly, but it did not notably set back U.S.-China relations and military ties, which has happened after past arms sales to Taiwan.
However, relations across the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated since then, as Taiwan last year elected a leader from an independence-leaning party, Tsai Ing-wen. China has increased diplomatic pressure, cut off its contacts with the island's government and discouraged travel there by Chinese tourists.
