Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Media reports that Taiwan is considering a massive $15 billion military package to show the incoming Donald Trump administration that it is serious about strengthening its own defense have sparked controversy on the island. 

Some people on the island have expressed concerns that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are trading the interests of the Taiwan people to curry US support, which cannot guarantee security but instead will heighten tensions across the Taiwan Straits.

In an article titled "Taiwan considers big US defence purchases as overture to Donald Trump," the Financial Times, citing several people familiar with the matter, reported on Monday that Taiwan "would probably" request Lockheed Martin vessels and Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, an airborne radar system. It also wants more Patriot missiles and may request F-35 fighter jets, which could be controversial in Washington. 

The DPP authorities of Taiwan said that "There has been a period of consolidation and discussion between it and the US on military needs, but there is no new stage of discussion at this time," Reuters reported. 

Financial Times report has sparked heated discussions within the island. Some media outlets in Taiwan, such as ET Today, likened such an arms deal to paying "protection fee" to the US.

Eric Chu Li-luan, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) Party was cited by Taiwan media United Daily News as saying that arms procurement requires a consensus across political parties. If the DPP is solely focused on confrontation, no amount of defense budget can guarantee security.

Although the DPP authorities claim there is no "new stage" for the arms deal, they are anxious that the new US administration might treat the Taiwan question as a "bargaining chip," so they are eager to show the US its "allegiance" regardless of the interests of the Taiwan people, Wang Wu-lang, secretary-general of the Labor Rights Association in Taiwan, told the Global Times. 

Some netizens in Taiwan expressed concerns on social media. For example, a netizen said that the DPP authorities would sacrifice the welfare of Taiwan people to cater to the US. Another netizen commented that buying weapons is useless and peace is the only way out. 

In response to the US Department of Defense's approval of arms sales worth nearly $2 billion to Taiwan, Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense said at a press conference on October 31 that China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the US move.

The US has reneged on its own promise and is intensifying efforts to arm Taiwan, emboldening "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and pushing Taiwan closer toward the "abyss of military conflict," the spokesperson said.