US approves $75M of possible Taiwan military equipment, angering China

The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Taiwan of about $75 million of advanced tactical data link system upgrade planning, the Pentagon has said.

The package would include Cross Domain Solutions, High Assurance devices, Global Positioning System receivers, communications equipment, technical services and other related elements of logistics and program support, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale on Wednesday.

Despite approval by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

The Pentagon said the prime contractor will be determined in competitive processes.

US' Taiwan support 'extremely strong'

Separately, The chairman of the US House of Representatives committee on China said on Thursday that support in his country's legislature for Taiwan was "extremely strong", after a meeting with the self-ruled island's top leadership.

Mike Gallagher heads a five-member delegation that met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-te, who won last month's presidential election and will take office in May.

"I actually think support for Taiwan in the United States Congress... I see growing and extremely strong support for Taiwan," Gallagher told reporters.

The United States is Taiwan's most important ally, and the island has been at the centre of tensions with China, which claims it as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control.

Gallagher, a vocal critic of China, added that he believed US support for Taiwan would be unaffected by the result of his country's 2024 presidential election.

"I am very confident that support for Taiwan will continue regardless of who occupies the White House," he said.

He also warned Beijing against any attempt to invade Taiwan, saying to do so would be "incredibly foolish".

"If Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party were to ever make the incredibly foolish decision to attempt an invasion of Taiwan... that effort would fail," he said during the meeting with Lai.