TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s defense ministry on Friday vowed to step up measures to protect territorial integrity after the US approved a large-scale weapons package for Taiwan last week.

"The Chinese People's Liberation Army will continue to strengthen training and combat readiness, take strong measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely frustrate attempts at 'Taiwan independence' separatism and external interference," the ministry said, per Reuters. It criticized Taiwanese “separatist forces” for enriching US arms dealers by seeking independence through force.

The arms package, valued at NT$350.3 billion (US$11.11 billion), includes the Taiwan Tactical Network and Tactical Assault Kits, Army AH-1W SuperCobra helicopter spare parts, M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, HIMARS systems, the Army Tactical Missile System, and additional anti-armor missiles. It is the second sale under the second Trump administration.

Analysts have noted that the weapons are more asymmetric in nature than in previous years, focusing on countering an amphibious landing. Former US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the weapons would “make a Chinese lodgment on Taiwan difficult to execute and sustain," according to Nikkei Asia. He said that acquiring more defensive weapons systems would strengthen Taiwan’s anti-landing capabilities against Chinese forces.

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the head of the US-Taiwan Business Council, said that HIMARS and howitzers could wipe out Chinese military ships and landing craft unloading Chinese troops onto Taiwan's shores and prevent them from establishing a bridgehead, Nikkei Asia said.

Taiwan’s Presidential Office thanked the US for the sale, saying it reaffirmed the importance the US government places on Taiwan’s defense needs and the Taiwan–US partnership. It pledged to continue implementing defense reforms, boost whole-of-society defense resilience, and preserve peace through strength.

The arms package comes after Taiwan's military announced it would carry out decentralized operations without waiting for orders during a potential Chinese invasion. The defense ministry said that if China suddenly attacks, all units would implement “distributed control” and conduct combat missions on their own.