After not approving a single weapons sale to Taiwan through the first nine months of his administration, President Donald Trump has authorized the sale of over $1 billion in arms to Taipei over the past week.
“Raytheon was awarded a $698,948,760 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) fire units,” the Pentagon press release said. “Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2031.”
NASAMS is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system. The missiles have been transferred to Ukraine to use in the war with Russia.
The arms sale to Taiwan is the second announced by the Trump administration in the past week. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced a $330 million deal to sell Taiwan aircraft parts, including F-16 parts.
The approval of the arms sales is a sign that President Donald Trump will continue the military buildup in the waters surrounding China. Taiwan is the most likely flashpoint to cause a war between the US and China.
Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province and intends to reunify with the island. Taipei has increasingly moved towards independence from China, backed by additional American weapons and commitments.
Last month, several American lawmakers pressed the Trump administration over the perceived shift from the Indo-Pacific. “The Chinese Communist Party, along with the nuclear-armed Russia and North Korea, pose a significant threat to the United States,” Senator Roger Wickers (R-MS) said. “The scale and scope of that threat put a premium on our alliances. In light of that, I’m disappointed with some of the decisions the department has made with respect to our allies in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan. A few of these choices have left me scratching my head.”
One of the issues raised by Wicker was Trump’s focus on selling weapons to Taiwan, rather than giving Taipei arms paid for with US military aid. “A number of us are concerned that DoD may be using the Ukraine playbook with Taiwan by taking defense items procured with Presidential Drawdown Authority and returning it to the defense stockpile,” he added.
The Pentagon’s press releases on arms sales did not disclose whether the weapons would be paid for with US funds.
Last week, the top American diplomat in Taipei said the US relationship with Taiwan remained rock solid. “It should be clear today and will remain clear into the future that America’s commitments to Taiwan are rock solid,” Raymond Greene argued on Tuesday. “We are backing these words with actions, with a focus on supporting Taiwan’s efforts to achieve peace through strength. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our growing defence industrial cooperation.”
