The United States has announced an $11.1 billion weapons package that, if completed, would be Washington’s largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan.
The defense package is a welcome boost for Taipei, which is facing increasing military pressure from China.
The announcement has irked Beijing, which opposes any arms sales to Taiwan and claims the democratically self-governed island as its own territory.
“We demand that the US immediately cease ‘arming Taiwan’ [and] stop condoning and supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” the spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Thursday.
The deal comes amid growing questions in Taiwan about US security commitments, fueled in part by President Donald Trump’s trade policies and negotiating tactics.
In response to the latest arms sale, which still needs congressional approval, Taipei has said it is “sincerely grateful” to Washington, adding that the deal underscores “the close Taiwan-US partnership.”
The US, despite having no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains the island’s most important international backer and is required by law to provide it with self-defense weapons.
What is included in the package?
The deal, the second arms sale to Taiwan of Donald Trump’s second term, includes eight separate purchases, ranging from Himars rocket systems and anti-tank missiles to loitering suicide drones.
“This is an important package from an operational perspective,” David Sacks, a fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), told DW.
Sacks said the arms sale is “squarely focused on giving Taiwan the ability to repel a Chinese invasion,” rather than countering gray-zone coercion or responding to a blockade.
In recent years, China has increased military pressure on Taiwan through frequent aircraft incursions, naval patrols and coast guard activity.
Facing a much larger Chinese military, Taiwan has been under growing pressure from Washington to boost its self-defense, with an emphasis on developing asymmetric capabilities through mobile and lower-cost weapons systems.
Given the weapons included in the package, Sacks told DW that “it shows Taiwan has bought into the idea that it needs to prioritize a [Chinese invasion] scenario and the asymmetric capabilities that are necessary for it.”
What signals have been sent to Taipei and Beijing?
Over the past year, concerns have grown in Taiwan about whether the Trump administration might treat the island as a bargaining chip in dealings with Beijing over trade issues.
“This package of arms sales, the largest in [US] history, should help allay some of those concerns,” Sacks told DW.
The US has long approached cross-strait relations with “strategic ambiguity” as to whether it would intervene militarily and come to Taipei’s aid if China were to launch an invasion.
Washington’s policy is intended to deter Beijing, while also dissuading Taiwan from declaring formal independence.
In a new national security strategy that was released before the massive arms deal with Taiwan was announced, the Trump administration was deemed to have downplayed ideological differences with Beijing.
The document focused more on trade competition, arguing that economic stability, with the US in the lead, is the best basis for countering China in the Indo-Pacific.
Sacks told DW that Trump’s policy over the past year has shown that the US “will continue to support hard deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and the Taiwan Strait” but will “do less to show symbolic political support of Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s recent efforts to strengthen its self-defense
In response to the latest US arms sale, Taiwan’s Presidential Office reiterated the island’s commitment to raising defense spending to over 3% of GDP next year and to 5% by 2030.
Last month, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te outlined a plan to invest an additional $40 billion in a special defense budget for the next eight years, which still requires approval by the opposition in parliament.
Recently, a report by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also showed that the military is adopting a “decentralized” command structure in the face of a potential sudden attack by China.
Under the new structure, if the military comes under a sudden attack, units will carry out operations or executive missions without waiting for orders.
While the concept has been implemented in annual military drills, Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at the military-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei, said it is the first time the military is putting it into practice in real operations.
“If China were to take military action against Taiwan, it would almost certainly carry out what is known as a decapitation strike, aimed at severing command and control and leaving the leadership paralyzed,” Su said.
A decentralized command structure could help improve “Taiwan’s survivability and its ability to respond to a surprise attack,” he added
Arthur Ding, a professor emeritus at National Chengchi University in Taipei, told DW that it is worth watching whether any US training for Taiwanese troops will include this decentralized approach.
He also pointed out that, regardless of the areas of military preparation Taiwan is pursuing, Beijing would be closely monitoring.
