TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US has delayed announcing a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan as President Donald Trump prepares for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, The New York Times reported Friday.
The proposed package, valued at about NT$408 billion (US$13 billion), includes air-defense systems and related equipment. Senior Republican and Democratic lawmakers informally approved the sale after the State Department submitted it for review in January, the report said.
Despite that step, the package has since stalled at the State Department. Administration officials told some people involved in the review process that the White House directed agencies not to move forward in order to avoid disrupting Trump’s planned April visit to Beijing.
The State Department declined to comment on pending arms sales but said in a statement that the US commitment to Taiwan remains unchanged and has endured for more than four decades. The White House referred inquiries to the department.
The issue of US arms sales to Taiwan was raised during a Feb. 4 phone call between Trump and Xi, according to a summary released by Chinese state media. Xi said the US must handle arms sales to Taiwan with “extreme caution” and described Taiwan as the most important issue in China-US relations.
Trump said in a social media post that the call addressed multiple topics and was “all very positive.” The April meeting will be Trump and Xi’s first in-person talks since October in Busan, South Korea, where they agreed to a yearlong truce in a trade dispute.
On Feb. 16, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was weighing how to proceed with arms sales to Taiwan given Xi’s opposition. “I am talking to him about it,” he said, without elaborating.
Some US-China policy experts cited in the report said consulting Beijing in advance on Taiwan arms sales could run counter to the Six Assurances, a set of commitments made by the Reagan administration to Taiwan in 1982. One of those assurances is widely interpreted as stating that Washington would not consult China prior to arms sales decisions involving Taiwan.
According to the report, the proposed package includes interceptor missiles for Patriot air-defense systems, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, anti-drone equipment, small arms, and maintenance support.
Under standard procedure, the State Department submits proposed arms sales to key Senate and House committees for informal review before formally notifying Congress. US arms sales to Taiwan typically receive bipartisan support, and the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act provides the legal basis for supplying the country with defensive weapons.
