China has been actively conducting military exercises around Taiwan for weeks now since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan. Though there has been a stiffening response from Taiwan, with their troops shooting a Chinese “civilian” drone in their air space, China has not reacted more aggressively since this happened last week.

However, with the US approving a whopping $1.1 billion military package to Taiwan, Chinese officials are saying the US is actively jeopardizing the US-China relationship.

The sale included Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office’s (TECRO) request to buy the following:

  • 60 AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II Missiles
  • 4 ATM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II exercise missiles
  • Harpoon Guidance Control Units (GCUs)
  • Harpoon Radar Seekers
  • Harpoon Rader Altimeters
  • Harpoon Captive Air Test Missiles (CATMs)
  • Containers, spare and repair parts
  • Support and test equipment
  • Publications/technical documentation
  • Training equipment and logistical support

Over the weekend, China threatened the Biden administration, saying this approval would thwart definitive action from China. In addition, the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated this is destabilizing the “peace…across the Taiwan Strait.”

In a series of tweets, Liu Pengyu, a Chinese spokesperson, called out President Joe Biden’s decision and asked for it to be “immediately” revoked. But, even though this has been approved on the executive level, congress still has to put its stamp of approval for the sale.