News - Middle East: The United States has given a green light to the potential sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of munitions to Japan and Singapore, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The $900 million package of arms and equipment approved by the US State Department includes advanced missiles for Japan and munitions for Singapore.

The package for Japan would include 150 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to be installed on the country’s F-35 fighter jets, worth more than $290 million.   

Singapore will receive $630 million to supply its fleet of F-15 S-G fighter jets with air-to-air missiles.

Washington has been supplying arms to its allies in the East Asia region mainly to counter the influence of its arch-foe China.

Military experts note that Japan’s armed forces and the US military have plotted several times to assist Washington in deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles on the Asian country’s southwestern islands in an attempt to achieve “integrated deterrence” against China.

China has vastly upgraded its military infrastructure in recent years, amid rising tensions with the West over Chinese Taipei, the South China Sea, and military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific.

China has repeatedly warned the US against expanding its military presence in the region, terming it the source of regional tensions and instability.