by WorldTribune Staff, December 19, 2025 Real World News
The Trump Administration on Thursday approved $11.15 billion in arms sale to Taiwan.
It is the largest U.S. deal with Taiwan as the democratic island nation faces growing threats from China.
President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, released last month, reaffirms that Taiwan’s security is integral to U.S. strategy. …. Taiwan “is indispensable. It dominates global semiconductor production and sits astride vital maritime routes connecting the Western Pacific to the rest of the world. If Beijing seized Taiwan, it would effectively control commercial traffic through the South China Sea, East China Sea, and Strait of Malacca — channels through which much of global trade flows.”
Related: Analysis: No, Taiwan is not China’s internal affair, December 11, 2025
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the sale includes artillery systems, antitank missiles, and spare parts for helicopters and antiship missiles.
The U.S. package includes 82 HIMARS rocket artillery systems and related equipment worth $4.05 billion, including 420 ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, as well as unmanned surveillance systems and military software.
It also includes 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion, as well as Javelin and TOW antitank missiles worth more than $700 million.
The deal falls under the $40 billion supplementary defense budget announced by President Lai Ching-te in November.
Lai vowed to build up Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities in the face of growing threats from the communist regime in Beijing, seeking to achieve a high level of combat readiness by 2027, when he warned that China was aiming to seize the island.
Lai cautioned of an “unprecedented military buildup” by China and “intensifying provocations in the Taiwan Strait, in the East and South China Seas, and across the Indo-Pacific.”
The deal drew a sharp response from Beijing, with its foreign affairs spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, accusing the U.S. of violating the “one-China principle.”
“By aiding Taiwan’s independence through arms sales, the U.S. will only end up harming itself. Any attempt to use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail,” Guo said.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday reported in a post on X that that China’s Fujian aircraft carrier had sailed through the Taiwan Strait, adding that Taiwan’s armed forces had “monitored the situation and responded.”
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