Amid mounting tensions between US and China, Reuters exclusively reported that Washington is pursuing the sale of more than $2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) worth of tanks and weapons to Taiwan.
The news wire quoted four people familiar with the negotiations saying that an informal notification of the proposed sale has been sent to the U.S. Congress.
China has always been condemning such deals, warning they might turn the mutual relations even worse.
The latest move can be seen as a front within the ongoing trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
According to the sources, the potential sale included 108 General Dynamics Corp M1A2 Abrams tanks worth around $2 billion as well as anti-tank and anti-aircraft munitions.
“The congressional notifications included a variety of anti-tank munitions, including 409 Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Corp-made Javelin missiles worth as much as $129 million,” two of the sources said.
Taiwan already has U.S.-made battle tank inventory, which includes M60 Patton tanks.
According to Reuters, the United States is the main arms supplier to Taiwan, which China deems its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.
Back in March, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen hailed the United States for responding positively to Taipei's requests for new arms sales to bolster its defenses in the face of ‘pressure from China’. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help provide it with the means to defend itself.
On his part, China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe warned the United States at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last weekend not to meddle in security disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
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