The US plans to sell as many as seven major weapons systems — including mines, cruise missiles and drones — to Taiwan, four people familiar with the discussions said.
Pursuing seven sales at once is a rare departure from years of precedent in which US military sales to Taiwan were spaced out and carefully calibrated to minimize tensions with Beijing.
However, US President Donald Trump’s administration has this year become more aggressive with China, and the sales would land as relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in decades over accusations of spying, lingering trade tensions, disputes about the COVID-19 pandemic, alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong’s new National Security Law.
Photo: Bloomberg
At the same time, Taiwan’s desire to buy weapons increased after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was re-elected in January and she made bolstering the nation’s defenses a top priority.
Washington has been eager to create a military counterbalance to Chinese forces, building on an effort known within the Pentagon as “Fortress Taiwan,” as Beijing’s military makes increasingly aggressive moves in the region.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
The weapons packages from Lockheed Martin Co, Boeing Co and General Atomics are moving their way through the export process, three people on Capitol Hill familiar with the status of the deals said, and a notification to the US Congress is expected within weeks.
One industry source said that Trump is scheduled to be briefed on the arms packages this week by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Some of the deals had been requested by Taiwan more than a year ago, but are only now being moved through the approval process.
A US Department of State spokesman declined to comment.
A senior US official, citing Chinese assertiveness in the Taiwan Strait, said: “There is no equilibrium today. It is out of balance and I think that is dangerous.”
Trump’s White House has made an effort to export weapons to US allies as it tries to bolster their defenses, decrease dependence on US troops, and boost US companies and jobs.
As he campaigns for re-election on Nov. 3, Trump and Republican supporters have ramped up their rhetoric against Beijing and sought to portray former US vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, as soft on China.
Other factors include Taiwan’s bigger defense budget and the fear in Taiwan that if Trump loses, Biden would be less willing to sell the US’ most advanced weapons to the nation.
Taiwan is bolstering its defenses in the face of what it sees as increasingly threatening moves by Beijing, such as regular Chinese air and naval exercises near the nation.
The senior US official said that Taiwan’s increased defense spending is a good step, but that it needs to do more.
“Taiwan, frankly, needs to do more in order to ensure that they indigenously have an ability to deter Chinese aggression,” the US official said.
Late last night, the Ministry of National Defense issued a statement calling the Reuters report nothing more than "media speculation,” saying that the military does not discuss such deals publicly, and that it would report to the public whenever the State Department formally notifies the US Congress of any such deals.
Additional reporting by CNA
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS