China objects as US approves military aid to Taiwan under program aimed at sovereign nations

US Announces $345 Million in Unprecedented Military Aid for Taiwan

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US OKs First-Ever Foreign Military Financing Arms Package for Taiwan

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“This severely violates the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Thursday. “China deplores and firmly opposes it.”

In explaining the change, two U.S. officials said: “The United States has provided Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Taiwan for years. FMF simply enables eligible partner nations to purchase U.S. defense articles, services, and training through either FMS or, for a limited number of countries, through the foreign military financing of direct commercial contracts (FMF/DCC) program.” The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

“In the face of increasingly aggressive People’s Republic of China military actions in the (Taiwan) Strait, the United States must move quickly to provide support for Taiwan’s defense,” said Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.