US approves PAC-2 support system sale

It also came as the White House maintains a freeze on Taipei's request for 66 advanced F-16 fighter aircraft, reportedly in retaliation for President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) insistence on going ahead with an election-day referendum on Taiwan's entry into the UN under the name "Taiwan."

Washington is expected to delay a decision on the sale until after the presidential election in March. Even if it gave an immediate approval after that date, it would take at least another three years for the first aircraft to be delivered to Taiwan and another two or three years for the sale to be completed, an industry source said.