President Donald Trump is preparing to dramatically increase U.S. arms sales to Taiwan as part of a strategy to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. According to two U.S. officials, the sales under Trump’s second term could easily surpass the $18.3 billion approved during his first administration. This is a sharp reversal from the Biden years, when arms sales to Taiwan fell to $8.4 billion.
The Trump administration’s push aims to enhance Taiwan’s “hard deterrence” against the growing threat from Beijing, while also pressing Taiwan to cover more of its own defense costs. Trump has made it clear that he expects Taipei to pay for its own protection, likening the U.S. role to that of an insurance company. “Taiwan should pay us for defense,” he said during a July 2024 interview. “They don’t give us anything. Taiwan is 9,500 miles away. It’s 68 miles away from China. A slight advantage, and China’s a massive piece of land.”
Taiwan has responded by pledging to boost defense spending to 3% of its GDP this year. Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai stated last July that Taiwan is willing to do more to protect its own security. Opposition leaders in Taiwan, however, have warned they want a say in how the defense budget is spent, though they support increased spending overall.
U.S. officials are pushing Taiwan’s opposition to back the defense efforts, warning them that this is a matter of “Taiwanese survival.”
China’s government, meanwhile, is furious. Beijing called arms sales to Taiwan a “red line” and demanded the U.S. stop. Yet, as long as China continues its military drills and invasion threats, Trump’s team appears determined to bolster Taiwan’s defenses and make clear that America stands ready to back its allies.
