The Trump administration announced a massive proposed arms sale to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion on Thursday. The deal includes the highly coveted High Mobility Rocket Systems, which would enhance the country's ability to strike long-distance targets in the event of a contingency with China.
U.S. officials framed the package as consistent with long-standing policy under the Taiwan Relations Act, which commits Washington to help Taiwan maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, even as the United States recognizes Beijing diplomatically. In a statement, the State Department said the sales serve "U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability."
However, if the sale is approved by Congress, it would be the largest U.S. weapons package ever given to Taiwan. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, sold $8.4 billion in weapons to Taipei throughout his presidency. The package was processed through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, moved into the formal congressional notification and review stage, a period that typically runs about 30 days and allows lawmakers to object. Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that the sale agreements total to $11.15 billion.
At the center of the announcement is HIMARS, a truck-mounted rocket artillery system that has become synonymous with mobile, hard-to-target precision firepower. In the notification described by U.S. and Taiwanese outlets, the proposed sale includes 82 HIMARS launchers and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, the medium-range missiles fired by HIMARS that have been widely discussed in the context of the Ukraine war.
The package also includes major conventional artillery, specifically 60 self-propelled howitzers, along with drones and related support, plus anti-tank weapons and battlefield software valued at more than $1 billion. Reuters described the overall package as eight items, with HIMARS, howitzers, drones, and anti-tank systems among the biggest ticket elements.
Taiwan's government welcomed the proposed sale as a step that strengthens deterrence at a moment when Taipei argues the military pressure campaign from Beijing is intensifying. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. for its "long-term support for regional security and Taiwan's self-defense capabilities," and Taiwan's Defense Ministry said their recent increase in defense spending "is the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability."
China condemned the move, arguing that the U.S. arms sales violate diplomatic agreements between the two countries and embolden pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan, and it has signaled it may respond with diplomatic and economic measures, as it has after past packages.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Guo Jiakun, said, "The 'Taiwan independence' forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg. This cannot save the doomed fate of 'Taiwan independence' but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for 'Taiwan Independence' through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed."
