The US has approved the sale to Taiwan of $619 million in munitions for F-16 fighter jets, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, in a move likely to anger Beijing.

• The package includes 100 AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), 200 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles(AMRAAM), and launchers and dummy missiles for training, the Pentagon said in a statement.
• The sale will boost Taiwan's "capability to provide for the defense of its airspace, regional security, and interoperability with the United States," it added.
• The announcement comes amid elevated tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan, as well as the downing last month of a balloon over US airspace that Washington says was a Chinese surveillance device.