The Pentagon said on November 14, 2025 that the sale is routine support to keep Taiwan’s air fleet ready for “current and future threats.” It is the first proposed package since Trump returned to office.

China objects to foreign military aid to Taiwan, which it claims as its own. Taipei says only its people can decide their future and welcomes continued US support.

Pentagon Backs Aircraft Readiness Package

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department approved a $330 million package for spare and repair parts for F-16s, C-130s, and Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter fleet.

It includes non-standard components, consumables, and maintenance support. The Pentagon said the sale “will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats” by keeping the aircraft ready.

Worth about RM1.3 billion, the deal also provides US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics services.

Washington said it supports US national and security interests by helping Taiwan maintain a “credible defensive capability.”

China’s Claims And US–Taiwan Ties

China has not ruled out using force to take the self-ruled island and regularly protests foreign arms sales to Taipei.

Taiwan, which “strongly objects to Beijing’s sovereignty claims,” says its 23 million people alone can decide their future.

The US keeps official ties with Beijing but maintains unofficial relations with Taipei, remaining its main arms supplier under longstanding policy.

The announcement came after Trump and Xi met in South Korea in late October to push trade talks, even as the Taiwan question overshadowed the discussions.

“Xi Will Not Invade Taiwan”

Trump has said Xi personally assured him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office.

For policymakers in Taipei, the new sale helps offset fears that their interests could be bargained away in US–China talks, reinforcing material support to Taiwan’s air defenses as political negotiations continue.