‘A very aggressive package’: Taiwan wants to demonstrate to Trump it is serious about its defense

A weapons package worth $15 billion soon could be purchased by Taiwan from the U.S., in order to demonstrate to President-elect Donald Trump that the island nation is serious about its defense against China.

According to a report from the Financial Times, Taiwan could purchase Patriot missiles, retired warships, Advanced Hawkeyes and F-35 fighter jets,

A former Trump administration official told FT Taiwan wants to make the purchase to “show they are serious,” and noted if Taiwan goes through with the deal, “they will go to the U.S. national security advisor… and present a very aggressive package of American hardware.”

FT further reported a senior Taiwanese national security official said there had been informal talks with Trump’s team about an arms deal that would demonstrate how serious Taiwan is about its own defense – this only coming a few short months after China carried out “drills” around Taiwan, cutting off key port entries.

“There are quite a few big platforms and other items that our armed forces have had their eyes on for a long time but have not been able to acquire, so there’s a lot to choose from,” the official told FT.

However, according to Reuters, Taiwan has denied any arms deals with the U.S. in the foreseeable future, with the Taiwanese government releasing a statement saying there are no new discussions in the works.

“There has been a period of consolidation and discussion between Taiwan and the United States on military needs, but there is no new stage of discussion at this time,” it said.

Reuters further reported Taiwan has complained they have not yet received the $20 billion in weapons they have ordered from the U.S.

In May, Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that Taiwan took much of the U.S. chip-making, but noted if China takes Taiwan, China could potentially turn the world “off.”

“If China takes Taiwan, they will turn the world off, potentially, I mean potentially, but remember this …Taiwan took our business away, we should have stopped them, we should have taxed them, we should have tariffed them.”

Trump suggests the US may not come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacks it, because he claims Taiwan “took our business away”.

*China spent over $5.5m at Trump-owned businesses during his presidency. @atruparpic.twitter.com/u1Ur2nIE8d
https://t.co/u1Ur2nJbXL

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) May 25, 2024

In late October, the Biden administration approved a $2 billion second-hand arms deal with Taiwan, which included ground-based radar systems for medium and long-range air surveillance, and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, along with other equipment.

In case you missed it: a $2 billion arms deal for Taiwan.https://t.co/AlSdiEtgEz

— Rich Smith (@RichSmithFool) November 9, 2024

In response, China said it would take countermeasures against Taiwan. During an interview with TaiwanPlus News, Ben Lewis, co-founder of PLATracker, an organization that tracks Chinese military activity around Taiwan, said “countermeasures” is a broad term for coercion, and the arms deal between the Biden administration and Taiwan is “significant.”

“These weapons are very significant, I mean NASAMs, you know, is a power capability, it has been combat-tested in Ukraine … It’s something that Taiwan needs in terms of bolstering its air defense,” Lewis said, adding the best way for Taiwan to defend against China is through its air defense.

China says that it will take “countermeasures” over a US$2 billion arms deal by the U.S. to Taiwan. For more on what this means, TaiwanPlus spoke to Ben Lewis, co-founder of PLATracker, an organization that tracks Chinese military activity around Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/gsj4Pux0XM

— TaiwanPlus News (@taiwanplusnews) October 28, 2024

Whether the $15 billion arms deal comes to fruition or not, China will unveil its new stealth J-35 fighter jet ahead of the nation’s biannual International Aviation and Aerospace Expo, according to TaiwanPlus News. The stealth aircraft has a similar shape to the U.S.’s F-35 fighter jet, and China plans to use the jets on its aircraft carriers.

American Economic Institute nonresident Senior Fellow and Tufts University professor Michael Beckley said in a keynote address to the 2024 World Knowledge Forum that China is on the decline, and is unlikely to just bow-out of its declining economic and geopolitical position. Specifically, China’s economy is not just slowing down, but actually reversing.

“China’s rise is not just slowing down, it’s not just ending, it’s starting to reverse,” Beckley noted, adding the “China hangover” has begun, where many countries who have tied their economic growth to China, are now feeling the sting of China’s slowdown.

“They got rich selling into the China market, they became dependent on Chinese loans, but now the slowdown in China’s economy, which lifted up so many economies around the world, is gonna drag more of them back down, and already countries are starting to point the finger at China.”

The slowdown is happening alongside China being put into a precarious geopolitical position, which could force it to conflict with its adversaries. Beckley believes China will not react well to the pressures.

“It’s [China] a classic “Peaking Power,” meaning it was once rising, but now its facing slowing growth, both in greater geopolitical push back, and what we’ve seen from past peaking powers in history; is that they don’t just mellow-out and dial back their ambitions – they tend to crack down on dissent at home, and then expand aggressively abroad,” Beckley said, adding China is already heading down that path.