Taipei: The announcement of a potential US$330 million arms sale to Taiwan by the United States this week sends a strong signal, a defense researcher said Friday. Su Tzu-yun of the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) stated that the latest arms sale involves maintenance of existing equipment and would help Taiwan strengthen its resilience against Chinese gray-zone coercion.

According to Focus Taiwan, the proposed package includes nonstandard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support for F-16, C-130, and Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) under the U.S. Department of Defense mentioned in a statement on Thursday that it also includes U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support.

The DSCA has provided the necessary certification notifying Congress of the sale, following approval from the State Department, as per the statement. Su noted that this is the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. Before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October, Trump emphasized his respect for Taiwan, asserting that "Taiwan is Taiwan," Su added.

Su mentioned that the arms sale announcement sends a clear message of support for Taiwan, dispelling rumors that Trump could have compromised the island's interests in a potential deal with China. Shu Hsiao-huang, an associate research fellow at the INDSR, noted that the arms sale is aimed at ensuring Taiwan's military maintains proper readiness of its aircraft. He explained that spare parts are crucial because, without effective logistics, the operational capability of weapons platforms cannot be maintained.

With increasing threats from China, Shu emphasized that future systems must be capable of countering emerging forms of warfare. He suggested that Taiwan needs to carefully assess its equipment requirements and be clear about "what kind of war it is preparing to fight."