The Ministry of National Defense yesterday declined to say whether Taiwan is pursuing a multibillion-dollar weapons purchase from the US, after sources briefed on the matter said that officials are in talks with Washington to procure at least US$7 billion of arms.
Three sources familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters that Taiwan is in talks with Washington.
The package is meant to demonstrate to the US that Taiwan is committed to its defense, one of the sources said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
A second source said the package would include coastal defense cruise missiles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
“I would be very surprised if it was less than US$8 billion. Somewhere between US$7 billion and US$10 billion,” the source added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has said he wants to speed up delivery of weapons to Taiwan.
The ministry declined to comment on specific purchases, but said it is focused on building its defenses.
“Any weaponry and equipment that can achieve those goals for building the military are listed as targets for tender,” said Major General Weng Yu-heng (翁予恒) from the Department of Strategic Planning.
The ministry would plan a special budget based on the threats posed by enemies, how urgently certain types of weapons are needed, production capacity and estimated delivery schedules, Weng added.
However, a third source said that Taiwan plans to propose a special defense budget that prioritizes precision ammunition, air defense upgrades, command and control systems, equipment for reserve forces and anti-drone technology.
Another ministry source told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) that the military is assessing measures to bolster the nation’s resilience, including projects related to armed forces reserves, asymmetric capabilities, precision-guided munition stockpiles, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the air and sea.
Following a national security meeting on Friday last week, President William Lai (賴清德) said that he would prioritize efforts to plan a special budget to raise Taiwan’s national defense budget to 3 percent of GDP to bolster its self-defense capabilities.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, US President Donald Trump made regular arms sales to Taiwan, including multibillion dollar deals for F-16 jets.
The administration of former US president Joe Biden continued those sales, although often with smaller price tags.
Taiwan does not believe Trump is looking to make a “grand bargain” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to sell out Taiwan’s interests, one of the sources said.
Trump is more concerned with putting tariffs on semiconductors, the source said.
In another sign of US commitment to Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene is to retain his post, three sources told Reuters, even as other US diplomatic postings undergo major reshuffles.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao and CNA
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
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