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2w ago

U.S. Delays $14 Billion Arms Package to Taiwan

The pause could erode a visible U.S. deterrent by signaling weaker political commitment to Taipei.

US President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping hold hands outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on January 30, 1979.
Soldiers during a military exercise at a military facility in the Xinshe district in Taichung, Taiwan, on January 27, 2026.
Soldiers operate a Taiwan-made attack drone during an annual military exercise ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on January 29, 2026.
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Overview

  • Days after President Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi Jinping, the U.S. acting Navy secretary reported that a proposed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan has been delayed, leaving its final status unclear.
  • Analysts say the pause reduces the political weight of U.S. arms sales and is likely to speed Taiwan’s push for indigenous and asymmetric systems such as drones, munitions, and anti-ship weapons.
  • Taiwan has approved a separate $9.34 billion special defense budget to buy items already cleared by Washington, including HIMARS rocket systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
  • Key items in the paused package include Patriot PAC-3 interceptors and ATacMS missiles, with PAC-3 deliveries estimated to take four to five years if the sale is approved because of global production limits.
  • U.S. and Taiwanese officials publicly say official U.S. Taiwan policy has not changed, but experts warn the delay could weaken deterrence against the PLA and tighten Taipei’s focus on closing air-defense and missile shortfalls through domestic modernization.