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President Biden is preparing to ask Congress to approve more than a billion dollars worth in arms sales for Taiwan as the country continues to face aggression from communist China.
Congressional sources confirmed the deal to Fox News on Tuesday. The deal is likely to include air-to-air missiles and weapons to be used at sea.
The sale is estimated to cost roughly $1.1 billion. To succeed, Biden will need support from top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
China has increasingly launched military exercises close to Taiwan’s coast, while warplanes from Beijing have violated the country’s air defense space. One such military exercise took place in April while a bipartisan group of U.S. officials was visiting Taiwan on an official trip.
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The deal is likely to include anti-ship missiles, air-to-air missiles and surveillance radar equipment.
(Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
The tactics have forced Taiwan to scramble its military to counteract while the island nation’s people have been subject to air raid drills and other safety precautions.
Members of Congress from both parties say the federal government needs to send a strong signal to China that aggression will not stand.
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“The Chinese Communist Party continues to intimidate and pressure our ally and the United States should always be on the side of freedom and democracy,” said Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit angered China, which viewed the move as meddling in its affairs with Taiwan.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
China’s aggression has only increased since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., visited Taiwan last month. Pelosi’s visit angered the communist regime in Beijing, which viewed the move as meddling in its affairs with Taiwan.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., traveled to Taiwan last week, earning the scorn of the Chinese embassy, and other groups of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have traveled to the country in recent months.
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The U.S. does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but a strong unofficial relationship. White House officials have argued in recent weeks that Biden remains firmly committed to the “One China” policy, which recognizes the government in Beijing while maintaining informal economic and defense ties to Taiwan.
