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| US President Joe Biden | Photo: Reuters |
US President Joe Biden has approved $571 million in defense aid for Taiwan, the White House said on Friday.
Donald Trump is set to take office as the new president of the United Kingdom on January 20. In the meantime, Biden, nearing the end of his term, has approved military aid for the autonomous island of Taiwan.
The United States has not yet formally recognized Taiwan as a state. Despite that, Washington is by far Taipei's biggest strategic ally and arms supplier. China, on the other hand, considers Taiwan its own territory.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has increased political and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, while also urging Washington to stop providing arms and aid to the island.
Taiwan government officials said China held its largest naval drills in the region in years last week, involving about 90 Chinese ships in the South China Sea, from Japan's southern islands. Beijing has not confirmed the drills.
Earlier this week, 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks arrived in Taiwan from the United States, reportedly marking the first time Taiwan's military has received new tanks in 30 years.
Taiwan and the United States will continue to closely cooperate in maintaining peace, stability and the dignity of the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, after the US approved the new aid.