Taiwan may buy a US weapons package worth more than $15 billion to show President-elect Donald Trump it is
serious about defending itself against China.
According to
the Financial Times, the package could include 60 F-35 fighter jets, four Advanced Hawkeyes, 10 retired warships, and 400 Patriot missiles.
People familiar with the matter told the publication that Taiwan may also request Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat System, which uses satellites to detect and destroy missile launches.
"Taiwan is thinking about a package to show that they are serious," one former Trump administration official told the Financial Times.
"Assuming they follow through, they will go to the US national security advisor when they are named and present a very aggressive package of American hardware."
A senior Taiwanese national security official told the FT that informal discussions have already begun with the president-elect's team.
Business Insider could not independently verify the report.
In a
statement to Reuters, the Taiwanese government denied renewed talks on arms sales with the US.
"There has been a period of consolidation and discussion between Taiwan and the United States on military needs, but there is no new stage of discussion at this time," it said.
US officials believe China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, will be ready to
invade by 2027.
China would initially seek to target key US military sites in the region in missile attacks, then deploy thousands of drones to surveil and help pinpoint further strikes, experts previously
told BI.
The stakes are high. In its Global Peace
Index 2023, the Institute for Economics and Peace estimated that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan would result in a $2.7 trillion loss in world economic activity in the first year alone, equivalent to a 2.8% decline in global GDP.
Bloomberg's
modeling, meanwhile, estimates that a total blockade of Taiwan and Western sanctions on China could result in a 5% worldwide GDP decline, with US GDP falling by 3.3% and China's by 8.9%.
While Trump has not yet revealed his policy toward Taiwan, he has made comments to suggest Taiwan should pay the US to defend it against China.
"We're no different than an insurance company," he told
Bloomberg in July.
"Taiwan doesn't give us anything. Taiwan is 9,500 miles away. It's 68 miles away from China. A slight advantage, and China's a massive piece of land, they could just bombard it.
"They don't even need to — I mean, they can literally just send shells. Now they don't want to do that because they don't want to lose all those chip plants."
Benjamin Blandin, a researcher at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, told
BI's Singapore bureau it's unclear what protection Taiwan could receive from the US under Trump even if it were to pay up.
Blandin added that it's highly unlikely the US would send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
"China will likely test American reactions by increasing further its gray-zone activities around Taiwan and also against the Philippines," said Sari Arho Havrén, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank.
In 2022,
Biden vowed to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack. In October, he
approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including radar systems and three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems
Despite approving packages to Taiwan worth upward of $21 billion during his first term, Trump has been less explicit in his support.
"The American people re-elected President Trump because they trust him to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world," said Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement to BI. "When he returns to the White House, he will take the necessary action to do just that."
The Chinese embassy in London and the
British Office Taipei did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
