(MENAFN) The Pentagon announced that it has authorized its first arms sale to Taiwan since President Donald Trump took office in January, a move Beijing has condemned as a violation of its sovereignty.

The $330 million deal will provide Taipei with spare parts for its American-made aircraft fleet, including F-16s and C-130s, the US Department of War said in a statement on Thursday. The package aims to support “maintaining the operational readiness of the… fleet of F-16, C-130” and other planes.

Taiwan’s presidential office welcomed the sale. Spokeswoman Karen Kuo said the decision reinforces “the deepening of the Taiwan-US security partnership [as] an important cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.” Taipei’s Defense Ministry added that the sale is expected to “take effect” within a month.

China strongly opposed the move. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that Beijing “deplores and opposes” US arms sales to Taiwan, arguing they threaten China’s security and “send a gravely wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.” He emphasized that the Taiwan issue remains “the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.”

While officially upholding the One-China policy, the US maintains informal ties with Taipei and has pledged to defend the island militarily if it faces aggression from Beijing. China continues to assert its aim of “peaceful reunification” but has repeatedly warned that it would not hesitate to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence.

Reports indicate that in September, Trump blocked a $400 million arms sale to Taiwan ahead of a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a recent interview, Trump stated that his late-October talks with Xi in South Korea focused on trade, and the Taiwan issue “never came up.”

MENAFN16112025000045017640ID1110351091