White House moving forward on arms sales to Taiwan: Report

The White House is moving ahead with three sales of advanced weaponry to Taiwan, and has sent notification of the deals to Congress for approval, five sources familiar with the situation told Reuters news agency. The move in the run-up to the November 3 US presidential election is likely to anger China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its aims. Reuters reported in September that as many as seven major weapons systems were making their way through the US export process as the Trump administration ramped up pressure on China. Asked for a response to Monday’s development, the Chinese embassy urged Washington in an emailed statement to stop arms sales to and military ties with Taiwan, “lest it should gravely harm China-US relations and cross-Strait peace and stability.” In the emailed statement, an embassy representative said: “China consistently and firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and has firm resolve in upholding its sovereignty and security.” style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">