Taiwan awaits massive US arms supplies after Trump visits China

Illustration. The M2 Bradley infantry armored vehicle equipment comes out of a container ship in the port of Gdansk, Poland in August 2018 (U.S. Army photo)

JAKARTA - Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's spokesperson, Karen Kuo, said China's military threat was "the only destabilizing factor" in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Taiwan Strait.

Citing Reuters, Sunday, May 17, Kuo's statement hinted at Taiwan's insistence that the US supply a second arms sales package to Taiwan.

Although there is no formal diplomatic relationship, the US is Taiwan's most important international backer, a region China claims as its own.

The US is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide weapons to the island. However, Kuo has stressed that US arms supplies to his country can be based on US law and serve as a joint deterrent against regional threats.

"Furthermore, military sales between Taiwan and the US are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also serve as a reciprocal deterrence against regional threats," he said on Saturday, May 16.

Illustration. The US destroyer USS Carl M. Levin fires a Mark 45 5-inch gun during a gunnery exercise on April 25, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist at US Navy Isabelle Dial)

Kuo added that Taiwan thanked US President Donald Trump for his continued support for security in the Taiwan Strait, and hoped that the two countries would continue to deepen cooperation.

In December 2025, the Trump administration approved a package of arms sales worth 11 billion US dollars to Taiwan. Reuters reported that the second package, worth about 14 billion US dollars, is still awaiting Trump's approval.

Regarding the second package, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi when asked for a response by reporters on Saturday morning, May 16, refused to comment. He only said that Taiwan would continue to communicate with the US to understand the situation from the US side.

Taiwan's government has hit a roadblock in its bid to pass an additional $40 billion in defense spending in the opposition-controlled parliament. Earlier this month, the parliament approved two-thirds of what the government wanted, but stipulated that the funds were for US weapons.

Meanwhile, during a visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, May 15, Trump said he could not decide whether to continue large-scale arms sales to Taiwan. This makes uncertainty about US support for Taiwan.