TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eight US senators are urging President Donald Trump to move forward with a long-delayed US$14 billion (NT$441.63 billion) arms sale package for Taiwan ahead of his planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week.
A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Trump on May 8, urging him to formally notify Congress of the arms sale, per The New York Times. They said Taiwan’s recent passage of a special defense budget with a ceiling of NT$780 billion removed any justification for further delays.
Senior US lawmakers had already approved the package in January, but the proposal reportedly stalled at the State Department for months. The delay fueled concerns over the Trump administration’s Taiwan policy and its broader approach to recalibrating US-China relations.
The New York Times reported that some administration officials told people involved in reviewing the sale that the White House had ordered the plan paused to ensure a smooth summit between Trump and Xi. In the letter, senators wrote, “Ahead of your summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, we urge you and your team to make clear that America’s support for Taiwan is inviolable.”
The senators also warned that US support for Taiwan should not be used as leverage in economic or diplomatic negotiations with China. They stressed that “American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation.”
Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Elissa Slotkin, Tammy Duckworth, Andy Kim, and Jacky Rosen, as well as Republican senators Thom Tillis and John Curtis, signed the letter.
Taiwan’s Legislature on Friday passed the special defense budget with a ceiling of NT$780 billion, most of which is expected to be used to procure US defensive weapons systems. The planned purchases include counter-drone technology and medium-range munitions.
The New York Times noted that the sale cannot proceed until the Trump administration formally submits it to Congress. Part of the defense budget will also fund weapons from a separate arms sale package approved by Congress and the White House late last year.
Although Taiwan has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress, lawmakers from both parties have expressed growing concern during Trump’s second term about inconsistent messaging, The New York Times reported.
Trump approved the framework for the arms package last year, but the formal congressional notification process has yet to be completed, according to The New York Times. The delay comes as China intensifies military pressure on Taiwan and US officials continue publicly advocating for Taiwan to boost defense spending.
In their letter, the senators said Taiwan’s passage of the special defense budget represented a positive response to pressure from Beijing. “Just as Taiwan’s leaders demonstrated unity in support of their people’s defense, so too must we move ahead with pending US arms sales vital to our own national interests,” they said.
