The White House responds to rumors that the Biden administration plans to sell Taiwan $1.1 billion in arms

The U.S. media Politico quoted sources as saying that the Biden administration plans to ask Congress to approve a $1.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan. The White House and State Department would not confirm this, but stressed that they will continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense. (Reported by Qi Helen)

According to the US political news website Politico, the Biden administration has added another case of arms sales to Taiwan. This batch of arms sales worth 1.1 billion US dollars and about 33.7 billion Taiwan dollars includes 60 Harpoon II anti-ship cruise missiles and 100 Sidewinder tactical air-to-air missiles. The report said the arms sale is still in the early stages and has not yet been finalized.

However, when asked about this, White House spokesman Jean-Pierre Bartell and the chief deputy spokesman of the U.S. State Department refused to confirm. Both emphasized that the United States will abide by its commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense. Battelle said he would not publicly comment on or confirm the planned military acquisition without formally notifying Congress.

If the report is true, the $1.1 billion purchase will be the sixth and largest arms sale to Taiwan since the Biden administration took office. The five previous arms sales totaled $1.173 billion.