According to a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. may soon sell weapons to Taiwan at the high volume record, possibly surpassing the figure during President Donald Trump’s first term. This comes as China intensifies their military pressure on the democratic island.
The two U.S. officials, who asked not to be named, stated that there will be an approval of weapon sales to Taiwan for the next four years that exceed the sales the nation did during Trump’s first administration.
Based on Reuters’ calculation, the U.S. under Trump’s first presidency sold about $18.3 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, more than double the volume during former President Joe Biden, which was approximately $8.4 billion. Now, it could go even further.
The officials also added that the U.S. is pushing Taiwan’s opposition parties to allow the bill of increasing defense spending to be passed. Early this year, President Lai Ching-te and his party were aiming for a boost in defense expenditure but faced a challenge when the opposition slashed the government budget.
The U.S. has been the most important supporter to Taiwan, both as the international backer and arms supplier. However, many raised concerns that Trump may downgrade that assistant since he suggested the island should pay for protection and accused it of stealing U.S.’ chip business.
A ramp-up in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could help alleviate concerns over former President Trump’s dedication to supporting the island, but would likely heighten tensions in already strained U.S.-China relations.
China has been stepping up its military pressure on Taiwan, vowing to “reunify” even if to take the land by force. Last month, China conducted a major military exercise right around the democratic island.
Despite a negotiation in Geneva, the U.S. and China are still in the middle of a trade war, with Washington recently tightening the chip trade and preparing to revoke several Chinese students’ visas.
