Shortly before Christmas last year, the Trump administration announced US$11.1 billion arms sales to Taiwan—the largest-ever deal between Washington and the self-ruled island, which includes eight separate purchases, ranging from HIMARS rocket systems and anti-tank missiles to loitering suicide drones. Mandated by the Taiwan Relations Act, the sales aim to bolster Taiwan’s self-defence capabilities and build a credible deterrent against a potential invasion by China, which cl