It is interesting to note what is happening with actual U.S. military arms sales to Taiwan. During the first Trump administration, the White House, working with Congress, authorized $18.27 billion of U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, including F-16s and associated support, Abrams tanks, Stinger and Harpoon missiles, HIMAR launchers, etc., according to “Forum on the Arms Trade,” which monitors U.S. arm sales to Taiwan. This period spanned January 2017 to January 2021.
During the second Trump term, there appears to be little or no arms deals with Taiwan. On September 19 the Washington Post reported that “President Donald Trump declined to approve more than $400 million in military aid to Taiwan this summer, as he tries to negotiate a trade deal and potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.” Whether this will be a continuing trend as part of a bigger deal, or will be reversed, is not known.
