TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A White House official said US policy toward Taiwan has not changed, reaffirming long-standing commitments after President Donald Trump said Monday he had been discussing Taiwan arms sales with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Speaking to a CNA reporter at a press conference, the official confirmed the continuity of long-standing US policies toward Taiwan, per the news agency.

Earlier in the week, Trump’s off-the-cuff comments to press aboard Air Force One drew renewed attention to the Six Assurances, a set of commitments the US made to Taiwan to guide defense relations. The assurances, together with the Taiwan Relations Act, are widely seen as central to US-Taiwan relations, Formosan Association for Public Affairs National President Kao Su-mei (林素梅) said.

The Six Assurances state the US will not set a date to end arms sales to Taiwan, will not consult China on these sales, and will not act as a mediator between Taipei and Beijing. They also state the US will not revise the Taiwan Relations Act, will not alter its position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, and will not pressure Taiwan to negotiate with China, according to CNA.

Experts and lawmakers have emphasized the importance of codifying the Six Assurances into law. Kao said doing so would “strengthen deterrence and provide the necessary legal safeguards to ensure that US support for Taiwan is steady, credible, and not up for negotiation.”

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said the Six Assurances, unlike the Taiwan Relations Act, are not written into law, and Congress is considering legislation to do so. Bonnie Glaser, director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund, also called for passage of related legislation.

A 2023 report by the US Congressional Research Service described three slightly different versions of the assurances in public records, from then-Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Lawrence Eagleburger, then-Secretary of State George Shultz, and then-Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs John Holdridge.

Regarding arms sales, Eagleburger said the Americans “have not agreed” to consult China, while Shultz used similar wording in a 1982 cable, stating the US “has not agreed” to consult China. Holdridge testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US-China Joint Communique “should not be interpreted as having agreed” to consult Beijing on Taiwan arms sales.