**The Obama administration is to announce its first arms sales to Taiwan, US officials have said.**The White House is to formally tell Congress of the deal, US officials told Associated Press news agency.
The weapons, thought to include helicopters and anti-missile defences, are part of a package first pledged by the Bush administration.
The sale is likely to anger Beijing, which considers the self-governed island a breakaway province of China.
Taiwan split from China at the end of the country’s civil war in 1949.
Beijing has hundreds of missiles pointed at the island and has threatened in the past to use force to bring it under its control.
The $6bn (£3.75bn) package is not thought to include F-16 fighter jets, an item highly desired by Taiwan’s military, news agencies said.
Beijing has already warned the US not to go ahead with arms sales to Taiwan. Ties between China and the US are strained by rows over trade and internet censorship.