TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump said Friday he has not decided whether to approve a major arms package for Taiwan following talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, Reuters reported.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would “soon make a determination” on pending weapons sales. He also indicated he would speak directly with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) about the proposed sale — a move that could strain US-China relations.
“I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know, you know who he is, that is running Taiwan,” Trump said, without naming Lai. A direct conversation between a sitting US president and Taiwan’s leader would be unprecedented since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
A senior administration official declined to say whether Trump meant he would speak with Lai, but said a decision on arms sales would come “in a fairly short” time, per Reuters. The official noted that Trump had approved more weapons sales to Taiwan than any other US president.
A major US arms package worth up to NT$442 billion (US$14 billion), including advanced interceptor missiles, is awaiting Trump’s approval. Under US law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and lawmakers from both parties have pushed the administration to move forward with the sale.
Trump said he and Xi talked a lot about Taiwan during their three-day summit, the first visit by a US president to China since 2017. Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could lead to conflict between the two powers, but Trump said he made no commitments.
Xi also asked whether the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked, and Trump said he refused to answer. “There is only one person that knows that, and it is me," he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Trump for past arms sales and said such transactions were grounded in US law. “Regarding Taiwan-US arms sales, they are not only a security commitment to Taiwan explicitly set out by the US in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats," the ministry said.
Analysts were skeptical that Trump would follow through on a call with Lai, Reuters reported. The Chinese will be highly alert to Trump’s comment and will seek clarification,” German Marshall Fund of the US Indo-Pacific program Managing Director Bonnie Glaser commented.
Stimson Center Senior Fellow Michael Cunningham said approving the arms package would be a major morale boost for Taiwan. “It would indicate that the actual nature of the sale was negotiated (with Xi),” he said.
