Global & US Headlines
Trump Green-lights Record $11.1 B Arms Package to Taiwan
On 18 Dec 2025 Washington formally notified Congress of an $11.1 billion, eight-item weapons sale to Taiwan, the island’s largest U.S. package to date and the second of Trump’s second term.
Focusing Facts
- The deal bundles 82 HIMARS launchers, 420 ATACMS missiles, 60 M109A7 howitzers, loitering-munition drones and other gear— together priced at $11.15 billion.
- China’s Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. diplomats the same day, calling the move a “red-line violation” and demanding an immediate halt under the August 17 1982 communiqué.
- Taiwan’s legislature is weighing a separate NT$1.3 trillion (~US$40 billion) special defence budget for 2026-2033, signalling domestic commitment beyond U.S. hardware.
Context
Big arms infusions to Taipei often accompany perceived U.S.–China inflection points: George W. Bush’s $18 b package in 2001 after the EP-3 Hainan crisis, or H.W. Bush’s 1992 F-16 sale as the Soviet Union collapsed. This 2025 tranche lands amid another hinge—Beijing’s rapid naval build-out and Washington’s push for allies to field “Ukraine-style” asymmetric kits. Strategically, it accelerates a decades-long trend that began with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act: the U.S. shifts from guarantees of intervention to outsourcing frontline deterrence to the island itself. Over a 100-year horizon, the significance is less the dollar figure than the structural signal: the U.S. is willing to erode ambiguity despite economic interdependence, while China frames each sale as casus belli, raising the risk of the kind of miscalculation that triggered the 1954–58 Taiwan Strait Crises. Whether this package deters war or merely arms a future battlefield will be judged by how both powers adapt their red-lines—an open question that could shape the balance of power in the Western Pacific well into the 2070s.
Perspectives
Right leaning US media
Fox News — Praises the $11 billion Taiwan arms package as a record-setting show of Trump-era strength that will bolster Taiwan’s defenses and serve U.S. security interests. Emphasizes Trump’s achievements versus Biden’s smaller sales and glosses over escalation risks, aligning coverage with partisan incentives to tout Republican toughness on China.
Chinese state-owned media
Global Times — Condemns the deal as a violation of China’s sovereignty that arms separatists and will trigger a forceful mainland response if Taipei crosses Beijing’s red lines. Employs nationalist rhetoric calling Taiwan leaders “saboteurs of peace,” reflecting Beijing’s propaganda aims while omitting Taiwanese public sentiment or the island’s defense needs.
International business & wire outlets
Reuters-syndicated BusinessWorld, Stabroek News — Presents the record arms sale as a practical step to deter growing Chinese military pressure, highlighting bipartisan U.S. support and Taiwan’s push for asymmetric defense. Relies heavily on official U.S. and Taiwanese statements and defense-industry voices, giving scant attention to humanitarian costs or the possibility of fueling an arms race.