Ahead of Donald Trump occupying the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden has approved a $571.3 million defence support for Taiwan.
The State Department also approved the potential sale to the island of $265 million worth of military equipment as defence support.
The White House has put out information on this approval.
The United States is legally bound to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
This obligation exists despite lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei, to the constant anger of Beijing.
Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China’s claims of sovereignty.
China has stepped up military pressure against Taiwan.
Apart from daily military activities near the island, China has had two rounds of war games this year.
Last week, Taiwan went on alert in response to what it said was China’s largest massing of naval forces in three decades around Taiwan and in the East and South China Seas.
Biden had delegated to the Secretary of State the authority “to direct the draw down of up to $571.3 million in defence articles and services of the Department of Defence, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry thanked the United States for its “firm security guarantee”.
It said in a statement that the two sides would continue to work closely on security issues to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait.
The Pentagon said the State Department had approved the potential sale to Taiwan of about $265 million worth of command, control, communications, and computer modernization equipment.
Taiwan said that the equipment sale would help upgrade its command-and-control systems.
The ministry further said on Saturday that the U.S. government had approved $30 million of parts for 76 mm auto cannon.
It further said that this would boost the island’s capacity to counter China’s “grey-zone” warfare.
(With inputs from Reuters)
