US State Department clears $1.83bn weapons sale to Taiwan

The US State Department notified Congress Wednesday it had approved the sale of US$1.83 billion in weapons to Taiwan a month ahead of presidential and legislative elections on the island, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sale includes two decommissioned US Navy frigates, amphibious vehicles, air and ground missiles and communications systems. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang summoned the US Embassy’s chargé d’affaires to protest that the arms sale had harmed China’s security interests and that sanctions would be imposed against the US companies involved, according to a statement on the foreign ministry’s website.