US advances sale of F-16 fighters to Taiwan

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The White House has advanced a proposal to sell $8 billion worth of advanced F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a move that would likely anger strategic rival Beijing, a senior US senator confirmed Friday.

Marco Rubio, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, called the administration’s decision to forward Taiwan’s request for 66 F-16s to Congress for approval “an important step in support of Taiwan’s self-defense efforts.”