$11.1B to Taiwan

Hi Global Recap readers,

This one’s messy.

If you’re absolutely consistent about opposing U.S. money and assets going overseas, then you’d oppose sending any to Taiwan, too.

But I’ve noticed a split:

• Some of the biggest "no Ukraine" voices are celebrating this (because it hurts China).

• So is the real issue foreign aid or Ukraine specifically (disdain for Zelenskyy, corruption, distrust, etc.)?

So which is it for you? No foreign aid, period… or aid when it hurts a rival (among other nuanced reasons)?

🇹🇼🇺🇸 TAIWAN & U.S.
Washington Greenlights $11.1B

The U.S. has approved an $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, described as Washington’s "largest-ever bundle" for the island nation. It is now in the congressional notification stage, with HIMARS and other systems folded into it.

• Bundle: It reportedly includes 8 items spanning rocket artillery, howitzers, anti-tank weapons, loitering munitions, and parts and support for other equipment, packaged as multiple notifications.

• Strategy: Taiwan keeps leaning into "asymmetric warfare," meaning mobile launchers, drones, and survivable systems meant to complicate an invasion plan rather than match China platform for platform (for obvious practical reasons).

• Politics: The package is at Congress’s notification stage, where lawmakers can block or modify it, though Taiwan says it has broad cross-party backing.

• Backdrop: The announcement followed an unannounced Washington-area trip by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, and it lands alongside Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s proposed $40 billion supplementary defense budget for 2026–2033, plus a fresh U.S. National Security Strategy that prioritizes deterring a Taiwan conflict by "preserving military overmatch."

🇻🇪 VENEZUELA
Navy Escorts Oil Exports

Venezuela is now putting its Navy on shipping duty, escorting petroleum-related cargo out of port hours after Trump ordered a full blockade of sanctioned oil tankers.

• Context: On Tuesday night, U.S. President Trump said he wanted a "total and complete blockade" targeting sanctioned tankers going into and out of Venezuela, framing it as enforcement of U.S. trade restrictions.

• Escort: Between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning (Dec. 16 to Dec. 17, 2025), multiple ships left Venezuela's east coast with naval escorts, including departures from the Port of Jose bound for Asian markets.

• Cargo: The outbound loads were not just crude. They included urea, petroleum coke, and other oil-based products. Some escorted vessels reportedly were not on current U.S. sanctions lists.

• Signal: A U.S. official said Washington was aware of the escorts and weighing options, while PDVSA (Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company)said its ships were sailing with "full security" and the right to free navigation.

• Issue: President Trump accused Venezuela of "illegally taking our energy rights—all of our oil." It may sound plausible at first, but the wording practically invites the takeaway critics are already pushing—that this looks "sponsored by energy companies." And with narco-terrorism messaging muted, Maduro gets to frame Trump's actions as being all about oil, not drugs and national security.

🇵🇱 POLAND
Poland Restarts Landmines

Poland has now confirmed it will start producing anti-personnel mines again and plans to deploy them along its eastern border.

• Trigger: Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski wants “large quantities as soon as possible,” and said he wants production moving quickly once the legal exit from the mine-ban treaty is complete.

• Purpose: The mines are tied to "East Shield," Poland’s defensive program to fortify borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave.

• Numbers: State-owned defense company Belma says East Shield could mean "millions" of mines for Poland’s roughly 800 km (497 miles) eastern border, and it is preparing for 5 to 6 million mines of all types in total demand.

• Factory: Belma says the Defense Ministry has not placed an order yet, but the company could scale to up to 1.2 million mines of all types next year, up from about 100,000 per year now.

🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
Chelsea Cash Ultimatum

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told Roman Abramovich (Russian oligarch and former owner of Chelsea F.C.) to "donate" £2.5bn from Chelsea’s sale or face court. The money has been stuck in a U.K. bank account since 2022 while the government and Abramovich argue over who gets helped.

• Money: Abramovich pledged in 2022 that the £2.5bn he made from selling Chelsea would go to "all victims of the war."

  • Some observers have argued that this wording could be read broadly enough to include Russian servicemen among potential beneficiaries.

  • The U.K. wants the cash used for humanitarian aid in Ukraine

  • In practice, however, the money has not been distributed and remains frozen under U.K. sanctions.

• License: Starmer told Parliament the U.K. has issued a license to transfer the £2.5bn, with the Treasury saying the money must go to "humanitarian causes" and cannot benefit Abramovich or any other sanctioned person.