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The US is compiling a large arms sale of Patriot missiles and other weapons for Taiwan that Beijing has privately warned could jeopardise President Donald Trump’s state visit to China in April.
The Trump administration is developing a package of four systems for Taiwan to purchase on the heels of the record $11.1bn arms package it unveiled in December, according to eight people familiar with the situation.
China has raised serious concerns about the package ahead of Trump’s planned meeting with President Xi Jinping in April. Three of the people said China had told the US that the arms sales could derail the visit.
Xi raised the Taiwan arms sales issue with Trump in a call on Wednesday. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, he emphasised that the US “must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence”.
“China traditionally has sought to dissuade the US from taking actions it opposes, such as Taiwan arms sales, during the run-up to presidential meetings,” said Ryan Hass, a China expert at the Brookings Institution.
“This is not new, but the bluntness and public nature of the warning is noteworthy.”
Several people familiar with the situation said the package could be as big as $20bn. But others cautioned that the final number was in flux and might be closer to the December figure. Some US officials argue that China is bluffing and will not cancel the visit, according to two of the people.
The package will include four systems. In addition to Patriots, used to destroy incoming missiles, the US will allow Taiwan to buy more NASAMS, an advanced surface-to-air missile, and two other weapon systems.
Several people familiar with the matter said the administration had been planning to notify Congress about the package this month. But some experts believe Trump will postpone the move until he returns from China.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the US is obliged to sell weapons to Taiwan to provide for its own defence.
“As it has been for more than 40 years, the policy of the United States is to maintain Taiwan’s defensive capability relative to that of China,” a White House official said. “Credible deterrence has ensured peace and stability for many years — and will for many more. We do not comment on the specifics of pending sales.”
Bonnie Glaser, a Taiwan expert at the German Marshall Fund, said the combination of the two arms packages “clearly demonstrates strong support from the Trump administration, and willingness to risk China’s wrath, as well as the Lai administration’s resolve to defend Taiwan”.
China’s ambassador to Washington Xie Feng has warned the administration about the arms sales, according to several people familiar with the matter. The Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
The arms sale package comes as frustrations are mounting in Washington about political wrangling in Taipei that is delaying the approval of a defence budget that would provide funds to buy weapons from the US.
Taiwan’s opposition parties — the Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party, which jointly hold a slim majority in parliament — are blocking a draft NT$1.25trn ($40bn) special defence budget to be spent over eight years proposed by President Lai Ching-te.
Just before Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan ended its winter session last week, it advanced an alternative NT$400bn draft special defence budget proposed by the TPP for committee review.
The TPP bill would fund five of the eight items included in the $11bn arms sales package unveiled in December. But it would exclude money for several systems, including Harpoon missile support, helicopter parts and drone procurement from Taiwanese suppliers.
The opposition has also stalled the draft 2026 annual budget which includes a 23 per cent jump in defence expenditure to NT$949.5bn.
The KMT and TPP say they back higher defence spending but accuse Lai of lacking transparency and seeking a “blank cheque”. The defence ministry has since held a classified briefing for lawmakers.
Two people familiar with the situation in Washington said the Trump administration wanted to unveil the next arms package before the money in Taiwan is appropriated to counter the argument made by the opposition.
Jim Risch, the Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, and Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the panel, on Friday said they were “deeply disappointed” that Taiwan’s special defence budget remained stalled in the legislature.
“We urge Taiwan’s political parties to work in good faith across party lines to fully fund Taiwan’s self-defence,” the two senators said.
