True Left

Senior official stresses amphibious landings difficult, but also repeats US calls for Taiwan to boost defence spending.

Deal covers sale of truck-based rocket launchers, long-range air-to-ground missiles, and external sensor pods for F-16 jets.

The White House is moving ahead with three sales of advanced weaponry to Taiwan, and has sent notification of the deals to Congress for approval, five sources familiar with the situation told Reuters news agency.

The move in the run-up to the November 3 US presidential election is likely to anger China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its aims.