US approves first-ever military aid to Taiwan under program usually reserved for sovereign nations

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The Biden administration has approved the first-ever US military transfer to Taiwan under a program generally reserved for assistance to sovereign, independent states. The State Department notified Congress of the sale on Wednesday. It said the material would “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 package is modest — only $80 million of what Congress had set aside as a potential $2 billion — but the implications of using the so-called Foreign Military Financing program to provide it will likely infuriate China. Beijing, which...