The U.S. on Thursday approved its largest arms sale to Taiwan, at $11.15 billion, as the island faces growing threats from China and has been a subject of diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.
The Taiwanese defense ministry said the sale — comprising artillery systems, antitank missiles, as well as spare parts for helicopters and antiship missiles — falls under the $40 billion supplementary defense budget announced by President Lai Ching-te in November.
Lai last month vowed to build up Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities in the face of growing threats from Beijing, seeking to achieve a high level of combat readiness by 2027. He also warned that China was aiming to seize the island by 2027.
Lai cautioned of an “unprecedented military buildup” by Beijing and “intensifying provocations in the Taiwan Strait, in the East and South China Seas, and across the Indo-Pacific.”
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a post on X that China’s Fujian aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait, adding its armed forces had “monitored the situation and responded.”
