THE United States is moving forward with an US$11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the largest ever of its kind, Taipei’s defence ministry confirmed on Thursday, signalling Washington’s continued support for the island as Beijing intensifies military and diplomatic pressure.
Reuters cited today that the package, currently at the Congressional notification stage, includes HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, anti-tank missiles, drones, and components for other military equipment.
“The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self‑defence capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability,” the ministry said in a statement.
The arms sale comes as Taiwan pursues a strategy of asymmetric warfare, focusing on smaller, mobile, and cost-effective weapons, such as drones, which allow the island to strike decisively while offsetting the numerical superiority of potential adversaries.
Washington has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing but maintains unofficial ties with Taipei, and is legally bound to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Such arms transfers, however, remain a perennial source of tension with China.
The announcement followed an unpublicised visit by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung to the Washington area last week to meet U.S. officials, according to sources familiar with the matter. The agenda of the meetings has not been disclosed, and Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
During the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. officials indicated plans to accelerate arms sales to Taiwan beyond the levels of his initial term, as part of an effort to deter Beijing.
The Trump administration’s national security strategy, released earlier this month, emphasised Taiwan’s strategic significance in dividing “Northeast and Southeast Asia into two distinct theatres” and reiterated a commitment to “preserving military overmatch” in the region, language welcomed by Taipei.
China continues to assert that Taiwan is part of its territory, a claim firmly rejected by the island’s government. - December 18, 2025
