US approves $385m arms sale to Taiwan

The United States has signed off on $385m in new weapons sales to Taiwan, the latest sign of deepening military ties that have unsettled China.

The US expects to begin delivering the military equipment, including spare parts for fighter jets and radar systems, in 2025, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement on Friday.

The sale approved by the US Department of State will ensure Taiwan can “meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness” of its F-16 fleet, said the DSCA.

On Saturday, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te set off for a trip to the Pacific, with planned stopovers in the US that have prompted fury from China.

China claims the self-ruled democracy as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal of unification. It has long opposed US arms sales to Taiwan.While heading on Saturday to Pacific allies Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, Lai will make stops in the US state of Hawaii and territory of Guam on his first foreign trip since taking office in May.