The Biden administration has signed off on a $100 million deal with Taiwan to boost its missile defense capabilities, sparking an angry reaction from the Chinese government Tuesday.
The deal will provide five years’ worth of engineering support to the island intended to “sustain, maintain and improve the Patriot Air Defense System,” according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which said it notified Congress of the sale on Monday.
The sale will serve U.S. national economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan’s “continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defense capability,” Defense Department officials said in a statement.
“The proposed sale will improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region,” officials said.
China, which considers the island democracy part of its sovereign territory and has vowed one day to reclaim it, said Tuesday it would take “powerful countermeasures” after the Biden administration announced the deal, the first arms sale to Taiwan of 2022 and the second since Mr. Biden took office a year ago.
According to Global Times, a newspaper controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the deal violates the “One China” principle and harms Chinese sovereignty and security interests.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a Tuesday press briefing in Beijing.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it welcomed the U.S. decision to support its Patriot missile program.
“In the face of China’s continued military expansion and provocative actions, our country will maintain its national security with a solid defense and continue to deepen the close security partnership between Taiwan and the United States,” the ministry said in a statement.