ALBAWABA – The United States (US) White House announced a new US military aid package for Taiwan on Sunday, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, news agencies reported.
This is US President Joe Biden’s administration’s first major package, drawing on America’s own stockpiles to bolster support for Taiwan in the face of China, Associated Press (AP) reported.
The new US military aid package for Taiwan includes man-portable air defence systems, or MANPADS, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, firearms and missiles, multiple unnamed sources confirmed to AP and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
These are "capabilities that Taiwan will be able to use to bolster deterrence now and in the future," a Pentagon spokesperson said, as reported by AFP.
"We are working expeditiously to deliver the military assistance announced today," the source said.
This new US military aid package for Taiwan is worth $345 million, news agencies have confirmed.
Taiwan's defence ministry thanked Washington "for its staunch commitment to Taiwan's security."
The package will be drawn from the US' own reserves, or stockpile, allowing it to be delivered on a faster timeline, according to AFP.
Congress has authorised President Joe Biden to draw aid for Taiwan from American military stockpiles, as is the case in Ukraine, the news agency confirmed.
US lawmakers have been pressuring the Pentagon and White House to speed up weapons delivery to Taiwan, AP reported.
While Chinese diplomats protested the move, Taiwan’s representative office in the US said this US military aid package for Taiwan provided “an important tool to support Taiwan’s self-defense”.
In a statement, it pledged to work with the United States to maintain “peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”
