New US arms strategy favors Taiwan, but ambiguity remains: expertsStaff writer, with CNAThe US’ new "America First Arms Transfer Strategy" could benefit Taiwan, though much would depend on how it is implemented and whether Taipei approves sufficient funding, US defense experts said yesterday. Montgomery was referring to US President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order titled "Establishing an America First Arms Transfer Strategy." The order's "vague" wording made it hard to assess how the new policy would affect Taiwan, said John Dotson, director of the Global Taiwan Institute, a Washington-based think tank. The language in that section could be interpreted to mean that arms sales would prioritize larger-ticket items, such as aircraft, missiles or heavy artillery such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Dotson said. The language referring to "critical geography" and the connection to US economic interests "could be taken as a veiled invocation of support for Taiwan," he said.

Source: Taipei Times February 12, 2026 05:40 UTC