Taiwan City skyline
Taiwan City skylineiStock

A bipartisan deal to send billions of dollars in weapons to Taiwan to shore up its defences to deter a Chinese invasion is being fast tracked through Congress.

Leaders from both parties are looking toward the deal as a way to prevent a situation similar to Ukraine from occurring in Taiwan, with the arms shipment aiming to arm the Taiwanese military ahead of any potential threat from China, the Washington Post reported.

The plan began taking shape while President Joe Biden met in person for the first time on Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia.

Biden reportedly discussed the security of Taiwan with the Chinese leader, stressing that the US and the international community had expectations that the current situation would not change in the Taiwan strait.

According to a summary of the meeting released by the White House, Biden brought up China’s "coercive and increasingly aggressive" behaviour toward Taiwan during the conversation.

The deal before Congress would order the Department of Defense to ship Javeline and Stinger launchers, anti-ship cruise missiles, anti-air defense systems, naval mines, command-and-control systems, secure radios, and self-detonating drones to Taiwan.