Trump says arms are going to Taiwan

The United States has announced the sale of an advanced missile system worth almost $700 million, which has been battle-tested in Ukraine, its second weapons package in a week, bringing the total to $1 billion to Taiwan, reaffirming its support for Taiwan.

Made by RTX, the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) offers medium-range air defence solutions — a new weapon for Taiwan. The Pentagon said on Monday the company was given a firm fixed-price contract for the procurement of NASAMS units, with work estimated to be completed by February 2031.

“Fiscal 2026 foreign military sales [Taiwan] funds in the amount of $698,948,760 were obligated,” it said in a statement. In the Asia Pacific region, only Australia and Indonesia currently operate the NASAMS defense, three of which the US said last year Taiwan would receive as part of a $2 billion weapons sale.

Used in Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion, the system offers a sharp boost in air defense capabilities that the US is exporting to Taiwan as demand for it surges.

Thursday’s US approval of the sale of warplanes and other aircraft parts to Taiwan for $330m was its first such deal since President Donald Trump took office in January, prompting thanks from Taiwan and anger in Beijing.

“It should be clear today and will remain clear into the future that America’s commitments to Taiwan are rock-solid,” Raymond Greene, the de facto US ambassador in Taiwan, told an event of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan 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.”

The arms sales announcement comes amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested on November 7 that her country could intervene militarily in any attack on the self-ruled island.

Taiwan’s military is beefing up its armaments to better tackle any attack from China, through efforts such as building its own submarines to defend vital maritime supply lines.

China’s military operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis in what Taiwan views as a “grey zone” strategy to test and exhaust Taiwan’s forces. Despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, the US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, to the constant anger of Beijing.