Taiwan is considering buying a large package of US weapons, including Aegis destroyers, to show the incoming Donald Trump administration that it is serious about improving its own defense against China.
Several people familiar with the situation said Taipei would request Lockheed Martin ships and Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, an airborne radar system. It also wants more Patriot missiles and may request F-35 fighter jets, which will be controversial in Washington.
“Taiwan is thinking about a package to show they are serious,” said one former Trump administration official.
“Assuming he follows through, he will go to the US national security adviser when he is named and present a very aggressive American hardware package.”
The deliberations come as countries ponder ways to avoid being targeted by the new administration as it emphasizes that Trump needs allies to spend more on defense.
Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official and candidate for the top job at the Pentagon or on the National Security Council, has been vocal in asking Taiwan to spend more. “Those who care about Taiwan must be very clear, they must step forward dramatically. Its fate hangs in the balance,” he wrote on the X social media platform.
Taiwan’s senior national security official said there were “informal discussions” with Trump’s team about what weapons package would show Taiwan’s determination to invest in its own defense.
“There are some big platforms and other things that the armed forces have been looking at for a long time but haven’t been able to get, so they have a lot to choose from,” the official said.
A second Taiwanese official said Aegis would be near the top of the list. But officials and defense experts say there are other, more expensive things Taiwan needs that will make a bigger impression.
“If you talk about the order list, it’s time to get the F-35,” said Su Tzu-yun, a senior official at the National Defense and Security Research Institute, Taiwan’s defense ministry think-tank. He added that Taiwan will ask for the retired Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Perry-class frigates.
“Taiwan’s instinct to invest more in its own defense is correct and in the first Trump administration, a historic arms sales package was approved,” said Heino Klinck, a former senior Pentagon official in the first Trump term.
Klinck said there is a “minimum threshold (of spending) for partners facing an existential threat”. But he emphasized the importance of prioritizing critical capabilities, such as munitions, command and control, air and missile defense, and undertaking defense reforms.
“The request for the F-35 will not make sense operationally or fiscally,” Klinck said.
People familiar with the discussions said Taiwan could request up to 60 F-35 fighters, four Advanced Hawkeyes, 10 retired warships and 400 Patriot missiles — a package Su estimated would cost more than $15 billion.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, said there is a recognition in Washington that Taiwan has come a long way in terms of defense spending but still has a long way to go.
He pointed out that Colby has “laser-focused” on the issue of Taiwan’s defense spending and said a large package “may look like a down payment that will try to get off on the right foot with the new administration”.
Taiwanese officials say worries about the risk of a second Trump administration are overblown.
“There is strong bipartisan support for Taiwan, as you can see from the steady stream of legislation and resolutions to bolster support for Taiwan,” the second official said.
“The Trump administration is the first to monitor more frequent and higher-level visits and unblock arms sales to our country.”
During Trump’s first term, the US approved 11 packages to Taiwan worth $21 billion, including F-16 fighter jets and Abrams tanks.
The Biden administration approved the deal worth $7bn. It is trying to force Taipei to allocate a different limited defense budget and prioritize the stockpiling of ammunition and cheaper, mobile weapons suitable for attacking superior invaders through the purchase of traditional big-ticket systems.
The Taiwan package is run by two veteran US hands in vice president Hsiao Bi-khim and Joseph Wu, the national security adviser.
Karen Kuo, a spokeswoman for President Lai Ching-te, would not confirm or deny that top officials were in discussions with Trump’s team about a potential arms procurement proposal.
“In the face of growing military threats from China in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the region, Taiwan and other nearby countries have all continued to strengthen their defenses,” Kuo said.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
