President Donald Trump speaks throughout an tackle to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room on the White Home, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington.
Doug Mills/Pool The New York Occasions/AP
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Doug Mills/Pool The New York Occasions/AP
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has introduced an enormous package deal of arms gross sales to Taiwan valued at greater than $10 billion that features medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a transfer that’s certain to infuriate China.
The State Division introduced the gross sales late Wednesday throughout a nationally televised tackle by President Donald Trump, who made scant point out of overseas coverage points and didn’t discuss China or Taiwan in any respect. U.S.-Chinese language tensions have ebbed and flowed throughout Trump’s second time period, largely over commerce and tariffs but additionally over China’s rising aggressiveness towards Taiwan, which Beijing has stated should reunify with the mainland.
The eight arms gross sales agreements introduced Wednesday cowl 82 high-mobility artillery rocket programs, or HIMARS, and 420 Military Tactical Missile Programs, or ATACMS — much like what the U.S. had been offering Ukraine through the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — value greater than $4 billion. Additionally they embrace 60 self-propelled howitzer programs and associated tools value greater than $4 billion and drones valued at greater than $1 billion.
Different gross sales within the package deal embrace army software program valued at greater than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles value greater than $700 million, helicopter spare elements value $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles value $91 million.
In separate however almost an identical statements, the State Division stated the gross sales serve “U.S. nationwide, financial, and safety pursuits by supporting the recipient’s persevering with efforts to modernize its armed forces and to take care of a reputable defensive functionality.”
“The proposed sale(s) will assist enhance the safety of the recipient and help in sustaining political stability, army steadiness, and financial progress within the area,” the statements stated.
Below federal regulation, the U.S. is obligated to help Taiwan with its self-defense, a degree that has grow to be more and more contentious with China, which has vowed to take Taiwan by pressure, if crucial.
Taiwan’s Protection Ministry in an announcement Thursday expressed gratitude to the U.S. over the arms sale, which it stated would assist Taiwan preserve “adequate self-defense capabilities” and convey sturdy deterrent capabilities. Taiwan’s bolstering of its protection “is the muse for sustaining regional peace and stability,” the ministry stated.
Taiwan’s International Minister Lin Chia-lung equally thanked the U.S. for its “long-term assist for regional safety and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” which he stated are key for deterring a battle within the Taiwan Strait, the physique of water separating Taiwan from China’s mainland.
The arms gross sales comes as Taiwan’s authorities has pledged to boost protection spending to three.3% of the island’s gross home product subsequent yr and to succeed in 5% by 2030. The increase got here after Trump and the Pentagon requested that Taiwan spend as a lot as 10% of its GDP on its protection, a proportion nicely above what the U.S. or any of its main allies spend on protection. The demand has confronted pushback from Taiwan’s opposition KMT get together and a few of its inhabitants.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te final month introduced a particular $40 billion finances for arms purchases, together with to construct an air protection system with high-level detection and interception capabilities known as Taiwan Dome. The finances will likely be allotted over eight years, from 2026 to 2033.
The U.S. increase in army help to Taiwan was previewed in laws adopted by Congress that Trump is predicted to signal shortly.
Final week, the Chinese language embassy in Washington denounced the laws, referred to as the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act, saying it unfairly focused China as an aggressor.
“The invoice has stored enjoying up the ‘China menace’ narrative, trumpeting for army assist to Taiwan, abusing state energy to go after Chinese language financial growth, limiting commerce, financial and people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.S., undermining China’s sovereignty, safety and growth pursuits and disrupting efforts of the 2 sides in stabilizing bilateral relations,” Beijing’s embassy in Washington stated after the laws handed the Home.
“China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this,” it stated.
The U.S. Senate handed the invoice Wednesday.
