TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou welcomed Saturday a U.S. decision to sell the island up to $6.5 billion in advanced weaponry, ending a months-long freeze on Washington's arms sales to Taipei.

The U.S. government announced the package, which includes Apache helicopters and Patriot III missiles, in a notification to Congress on Friday. The State Department said the deal would proceed if no lawmaker voices any objection within 30 days.

The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons against a possible invasion by China. It remains Taiwan's most important ally and largest arms supplier, even after Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. China continues to claim Taiwan as part of its territory and threatens to attack if the island moves to make the break permanent.

Friday's move came three months after Admiral Timothy Keating, the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific, announced a freeze on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Analysts speculated the decision reflected U.S. reluctance to anger China before President George W. Bush attended the Olympics in Beijing in August.

On Saturday, Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi thanked the U.S. and said the government wants to maintain a strong defense against any threat from China while seeking improvement in cross-strait relations.