(Updated with USA)
TAIPEI, March 2 (Reuters) – The United States has approved a $619 million arms sale to Taiwan, as the island announced on Thursday another intrusion by Chinese military planes in its airspace.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that the US State Department had approved a sale of military equipment to Taiwan, including medium-range air-to-air missiles and supersonic air-to-surface missiles.
“The proposed sale will allow its beneficiary to ensure the defense of its airspace, regional security and interoperability with the United States,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the missiles would help “effectively defend airspace and deal with threats and provocations from the communist military.”
Taipei has complained in recent years of an intensification of Beijing’s military activities near Taiwan, while China considers the island an integral part of its territory.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced that 21 aircraft had been spotted in the southwest of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past twenty-four hours.
The ministry on Wednesday denounced the entry of 19 Chinese fighter jets into its air defense zone.
(Report Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; French version Camille Raynaud)
