by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The Pentagon announced Friday that the United States has approved a new arms sale to Taiwan worth US$387 million, the Taipei Times (TT) reports. The sale represents the 18th arms deal with Taiwan to be approved by the Biden administration.
Requested by Taipei amid ongoing saber-rattling by the Chinese government – which considers Taiwan to be part of China – the sale includes F-16 fighter jets and follow-up support for Improved Mobile Subscriber Equipment (IMSE), TT reports. Delivery of the equipment is expected to begin in 2025.
In a statement, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the deal serves “US national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability” and that it would “help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region.”
The Taipei Presidential Office said Sunday that the new arms deal represents a deepened Taiwan-US security partnership and an important element in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, TT reports.
“[Tawian’s] Ministry of National Defense expressed gratitude to the US for the latest arms sale, which it said would continue to provide Taiwan with assistance building the nation’s self-defense capabilities and establish a foundation to maintain regional stability,” TT reports.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel absorbed approximately 21,900 new immigrants in 2025, marking a sharp decline of about one-third from the previous year, according to data released Monday by the Immigration and Absorption Ministry. The drop was driven largely by a steep fall in arrivals from Russia, following the surge that accompanied Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
President Donald Trump announced Dec. 31 that he will withdraw federally controlled National Guard troops from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, ending months of contentious deployments tied to civil unrest and immigration enforcement.
Iran was gripped by a fourth consecutive day of nationwide unrest on Wednesday as protesters clashed with security forces, torched buildings, and openly chanted “Death to the Dictator,” signaling an escalation from economic anger to direct defiance of the Islamic Republic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia “believes in victory” in Ukraine during a New Year’s Eve address, calling on Russians to support troops nearly four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
European leaders held an emergency call Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would “revise” Russia’s negotiating position on ending the war in Ukraine following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on his residence in Russia’s Novgorod region.
The historic Dutch fishing town of Volendam is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the nation’s deadliest café fire, a tragedy that killed 14 young people and injured more than 200 others, many with severe burns.
Journalists imprisoned across Russia, and other former Soviet states may have been encouraged by the faith of a Catholic reporter in Belarus who has appealed to the Vatican for help while marking years behind bars.