US State Department approved the potential sale of Taiwania of military equipment for 1.1 billion dollars, including 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles. China threatened with return measures, reports Reuters.
The Pentagon announced the “weapons package” on Friday, after the end of China’s military exercises around Taiwan as a “answer” for a visit to the island last month, the speaker of the House of Nancy Pelosi, the most senior official of the United States who visited the island in recent years, indicates the agency.
The weapon package includes Sidewinder missiles, which can be used for air-to-air and air-air class attacks, worth about $ 85.6 million, Harpoon anti-ship missiles worth $ 355 million, as well as ” Support for the “Development of the Taiwanese monitoring program for observation radar. The US Ministry of Defense Agency for Cooperation in the Field of Security and Defense (DSCA) reported that the “support” of the radar system is estimated at $ 665.4 million.
Liu Penyu, the official representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, emphasized in his statement that the possible sale of weapons Taiwan “would be a serious threat to the Chinese-American relations, as well as the world and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” “China will accept decisive, legal and necessary countermeasures in the light of the development of events,” he said.
At the same time, the senior director of the White House in China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger said that “since the PRC continues to increase pressure on Taiwan, including by strengthening the air and naval forces around Taiwan, and makes attempts to change the status Quo in the Taiwan Strait, we provide Taiwan with what is needed to preserve its defense potential. “