US approves first-ever military aid to Taiwan through program typically used for sovereign nations

The Biden administration has approved the first-ever transfer of US military equipment to Taiwan under a program typically saved for sovereign nations, according to a notification sent to Congress on Tuesday.

The package – which is part of the State Department’s foreign military financing (FMF) program – totals $80 million and will be paid for by US taxpayers.

“FMF will be used to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities through joint and combined defense capability and enhanced maritime domain awareness and maritime security capability,” the department wrote in its notification to Congress that was reviewed by CNN.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed the first-ever transfer.

“Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and our longstanding one China policy, which has not changed, the United States makes available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to enable it to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” the spokesperson told CNN in a statement. “The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”

The newest development in continued US support for Taiwan is likely to anger China, which claims the self-governing island as its own.

The US has sold weapons to Taiwan in the past through a separate program called Foreign Military Sales. Using the FMF program allows the US to sell Taiwan US training or equipment in the current US stockpile.

According to the letter sent to Congress, the sale could span a wide range of capabilities, including air and coastal defense systems, ballistic missile defense, cyber defense, drones, military training, individual soldier protective gear, and ammunition.

Under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act passed last year, the US sets aside $2 billion…