The US State Department has approved the sale to Taiwan of spare and repair parts for F-16 fighter jets worth an estimated $80 million, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency reported on Wednesday.
The sale will contribute to “improving the security of the recipient and will help maintain political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region,” the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
Taiwan’s defense ministry thanked the United States and said the sale would boost the combat and defense needs of its air force. The ministry said the sale would be finalized in July.
“By normalizing gray zone harassment, the Chinese Communist Party attempted to reduce our naval and air training space and response time, as well as limit our self-defense rights,” he said in a statement.
China has repeatedly demanded that the United States, Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, stop arms sales to the island, which Beijing claims as its own territory over Taipei’s strong objection.
The Chinese defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Speaking to reporters in parliament on Thursday, Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Taiwan must boost its self-defense capabilities to be part of “effective deterrence” in the US Indo-Pacific strategy.
“But for Taiwan-US military cooperation, there are many things we can only do, not say,” he said.
