HONG KONG, December 18. /TASS/. The US government has announced its approval of the sale of several arms packages to Taiwan, including HIMARS missile systems, anti-tank missiles, and drones, with a total estimated value of $11.1 billion, Focus Taiwan reported.

According to the news outlet, this is the second announcement of arms sales to Taiwan by the Donald Trump administration since his return to power.

Focus Taiwan noted that the list of eight arms packages includes M109A7 howitzers, HIMARS missile systems, TOW 2B anti-tank missile systems, drones, and FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank systems.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists took power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established relations with China. While recognizing the one-China policy, Washington continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei government. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier. The Chinese Foreign Ministry estimates that the total amount of US military supplies to the island has exceeded $70 billion over the years.