The US has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan worth more than $10 billion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has announced a massive arms sales package worth more than $10 billion to Taiwan that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, prompting an angry response from China.

The State Department announced the sale late Wednesday in a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made little mention of foreign policy issues and made no mention of China or Taiwan. US-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s growing aggression toward Taiwan, which Beijing says should be reunified with the mainland.

The eight arms sales deals announced Wednesday include 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army tactical missile systems, or ATACMS — similar to those awarded to Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones worth more than $1 billion.

Other sales in the package include military software worth more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million.

In separate but nearly identical statements, the State Department said the sale “serves U.S. national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continued efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a credible defense capability.”

“The proposed sale(s) will help improve the recipient’s security and maintain political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region,” the statement said.

China’s foreign ministry has attacked the move as a violation of diplomatic agreements between China and the US. It seriously harms China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and undermines regional stability.

“The Taiwan Liberation Army seeks independence by force and resists reunification by force, wasting people’s hard-earned money to buy weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a dust bag,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

“This will not save the disastrous fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the Taiwan Strait to a dangerous state of military confrontation and war. US support for ‘Taiwan independence’ through weapons will only backfire. Using Taiwan to control China will not succeed,” he added.

Under federal law, the U.S. is obligated to assist Taiwan in its self-defense, a point further disputed by China, which has vowed to use force against Taiwan if necessary.

In a statement Thursday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry expressed its gratitude for the arms sales to the U.S., which will help Taiwan maintain “sufficient self-defense capabilities” and build stronger deterrence capabilities. Taiwan’s strengthening of its defenses is “the basis for maintaining regional peace and stability,” the ministry said.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung similarly thanked the US for its “long-term support for regional security and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” which he said were critical to preventing conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

The arms sales come as Taiwan’s government has pledged to increase defense spending to 3.3 percent of the island’s gross domestic product next year and to 5 percent by 2030. The increase comes after Trump and the Pentagon requested that Taiwan spend 10 percent of its GDP on defense, a higher percentage than the U.S. or any other major defense spends. The demand has faced pushback from Taiwan’s opposition KMT party and some of its population.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-tei last month announced a special $40 billion budget for arms procurement, including building an air defense system with advanced detection and interception capabilities called the Taiwan Dome. The budget will be allocated in eight years from 2026 to 2033.

The US boost in military aid to Taiwan was previewed in legislation passed by Congress that Trump is expected to sign soon.

Last week, the Chinese embassy in Washington denounced the law, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it unfairly targeted China as an aggressor. The US Senate passed the bill on Wednesday.

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Mistranu reported from Beijing. AP video reporters Olivia Zhang in Beijing and Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.