U.S. angers China with potential $1.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan

FILE PHOTO: Air force crews lift an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles to be loaded onto Northrop F-5 fighter during a military drill at Zhi-Hang Air Base in Taitung, Taiwan January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $1.1 billion sale of military equipment to Taiwan, including 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles, with China threatening to take counter measures.

The Pentagon announced the package on Friday in the wake of China's aggressive military drills around Taiwan following a visit to the island last month by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. official to travel to Taipei in years.