Taipei — Taiwan urged the United States to follow through on arms sales on Saturday after President Donald Trump said he had not yet decided on a proposed package, raising fresh uncertainty about US support for the island.
A senior Taiwanese diplomat said weapons transfers to Taiwan are anchored in US law and remain essential to regional stability. “US arms sales to Taiwan have long been a cornerstone of peace and stability in the region,” Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told reporters in Taipei.
Although Washington and Taipei do not have formal diplomatic relations, the United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide defensive weapons. In December, the Trump administration approved a record $11 billion arms package for Taiwan. Reuters has reported a second, larger package worth around $14 billion is awaiting presidential sign-off.
Chen said Taiwan would continue to communicate with US officials about the pending sale but declined to comment on details of the second package while it remains unpublished. He also said Taipei was seeking to interpret the “true intent” behind Mr. Trump’s remarks.
Trump, returning from a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, told reporters on Friday he had not decided whether to proceed with the additional sale and suggested he might speak with Taiwan’s president, saying, “I have to speak to the person … that’s running Taiwan.” That remark prompted questions in Taipei about Washington’s timeline and intentions.
Domestic politics in Taiwan have complicated the island’s defence planning. The government has been trying to secure an extra NT$40 billion (about $1.2 billion) in defence spending but has been stymied by an opposition-controlled parliament. Earlier this month legislators approved roughly two-thirds of the requested sum and specified that the funds be used for US arms.
US lawmakers from both parties have pushed the administration to continue arms sales to Taiwan, arguing such support underpins deterrence and regional stability. Kuo Yu-ren, vice president of the Institute for Policy Research in Taiwan, suggested the White House might delay approval of the pending package until after a planned state visit by Xi to the United States that Mr. Trump has invited for late September.
The timing of any decision is sensitive because China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to achieve unification. Beijing has repeatedly rebuffed overtures from Taiwan’s leadership, calling President Lai Ching-te a “separatist.”
Taiwan’s officials reiterated their stance that the Republic of China is a sovereign, independent polity and that only Taiwan’s roughly 23 million people can determine their future through democratic means, Chen said.
Chinese military aircraft and vessels operate around Taiwan frequently, and officials in Taipei said that pressure did not ease while Trump was in Beijing. Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister at Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said Beijing has long relied on a combination of diplomatic pressure and the threat of military force to advance its objectives toward Taiwan. “That has always been the basic tone of its Taiwan policy,” he said.
Taiwan said it will continue to follow developments in Washington closely while pressing for reassurance that long-standing US commitments to the island’s defence will be maintained.
