US to send Taiwan new $340 million military aid package — official

WASHINGTON, United States  — The United States will soon announce a roughly $340 million military aid package for Taiwan, a US official said Friday.

The package will feature intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment and small arms munitions, but could include other items as well, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The exact timing of the expected announcement is unclear, though it could come as soon as Friday.

The move is certain to anger Beijing, which claims the democratic, self-ruled island as part of its territory and has vowed to take it, by force if necessary.

Congress has authorized the president to draw aid for Taiwan from American military stocks -- the same way that Washington has provided large quantities of assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The 2023 defense spending bill permits the president to "direct the drawdown of defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense, defense services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, of an aggregate value of not to exceed $1,000,000,000 per fiscal year."

Doing so is quicker than contracting for new equipment from the defense industry, as the United States has gear it does not need in storage and can provide it more quickly than it would take to produce new items.

The United States wants to boost Taiwan's military strength to deter a possible invasion by China, which has intensified its saber-rattling in recent years, orchestrating near-daily incursions of warplanes and naval vessels around the island.