US Plans Expanded Arms Sales to Taiwan Under Trump to Counter China Pressure:

Suspense crime, Digital Desk : The U.S. has plans to increase the sale of arms to Taiwan beyond the $18.3 billion allocated by president Trump, and these plans are fueled by Taiwan attempting to resist China’s military threats toward the autonomous island. As per reports from the two American officials, these plans are meant to reassure Taiwan towards the continuous threats in the region while also fortifying Taiwan’s defenses.

Strategic Targets and Comparison with Trump’s Era

With the increment of weapons sales to Taiwan, the Biden administration has also been under fire for not meeting the expectations with his $8.4 billion arms deal. However, U.S officials plan to surpass these deals within the Trump Biden era expectancy timeframe of four years. They are hopeful for a surge in arms permits, expecting that plans set for the following years will “greatly surpass” former Trump era spending. It is plausible that the underlining concern for Taiwan regarding Trump’s comments about the country “funding” for his protection and the assumption of losing base semiconductor manufacturing ties may be addressed under his hard deterrence policy.

Emphasis on Affordability in Defense Systems

Statements assert the following arms additions are more likely and planned with intent:

Missiles and derivative works of advanced weaponry

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Other cost-saving defensive technologies

All of these are intended to give Taiwan some relief against China’s armed forced aggression because of the latter’s dominating resources and military forces.

Taiwan's Efforts to Increase Defense Spending Received with some Political Oppurtunities

Headed by President Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwanese government is attempting to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP with a special defense budget. However, the KMT-TPP dominated opposition parliament has raised significant budgetary cuts to spending. This has caused concern in Washington.

U.S. officials are said to have urged the opposition not to block defense spending, stating the issue transcends partisanship, depicting it as a “survival issue”. This sentiment was expressed by U.S. congressional visitors during their meetings with Taiwanese lawmakers.

Statements from Taiwanese Political Parties

KMT: While confirming their position during a media briefing, party representative Alexander Huang commented that they endorse a larger amount of spending on defense. This however does not amount to unquestioning acceptance of DDP’s approaches.

TPP: The party stated it maintains that the continuance of contacts with representatives of the U.S. is useful, especially in discussions about defense and security.

Western Reactions Alongside Chinese Naval Deployments

The positioning of vessels associated with the Chinese Navy serves the dual purpose of monitoring and signaling to Taiwan. Furthermore, reports state that Taiwan has stationed missile systems on its allegedly monitored vessels.

Beijing has continuously actively opposed the sales of American arms to Taiwan and any form of official diplomatic contact.

As per news reports, the Trump administration appears poised to permit a possible transit visit by President Lai through U.S. territory, which has historically prompted diplomatic outrage from Beijing. Nevertheless, Taiwan’s Presidential Office has stated that it does not have plans for such a visit at this time.

Geostrategic Importance and World Significance

Taiwan is one of the key players in the global manufacturing of semiconductors. Their safety is heavily protected by the US and other allied democracies. The US continues to call for more alignment and the development of strong deterrence strategies to meet the rising Chinese pressure in the Indo-Pacific region.