The United States has approved a new $330 million military sale to Taiwan, marking the first arms package since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Taiwan’s foreign ministry announced on Friday.
Washington remains Taipei’s main arms supplier and a key deterrent against a potential Chinese attack.
However, Trump’s recent remarks about Taiwan have raised questions about how firmly he intends to support the self-governed island.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly warned that it may use force to bring the island under its control.
According to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, the sale includes “non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support” for Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets, C-130 transport aircraft, and Indigenous Defence Fighters.
Despite Taiwan’s growing domestic defence industry, its forces remain significantly weaker than China’s and depend heavily on American weapons to maintain credible defence capabilities.
The US is legally required to supply arms to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, but it has long followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity” about whether American troops would intervene directly in a Chinese assault.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has sought to strengthen ties with Trump.
He has pledged to raise defence spending to more than 3% of GDP next year and to 5% by 2030.
Lai has also committed to boosting Taiwanese investment in the United States as his government tries to manage the impact of Trump’s 20% tariff on Taiwanese products.
However, Lai’s plan to introduce a special defence budget of up to NT$1 trillion (about US$32 billion) may face resistance from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which controls the legislature with support from the Taiwan People’s Party.
Opposition lawmakers have repeatedly criticised delays in US arms deliveries to Taiwan. Billions of dollars’ worth of equipment remain stuck because of COVID-19 supply chain disruptions and ongoing American military support for Ukraine and Israel.
The KMT’s new chairperson, Cheng Li-wun, recently argued that Taiwan cannot sustainably raise military spending above 3% of GDP, saying, “Taiwan isn’t an ATM.”
This latest US arms sale is the first since December 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
It comes at a time of mounting tension between China and Japan following assertive comments by Tokyo’s new prime minister about Taiwan.