TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) expressed confidence that US arms sales and deliveries to Taiwan would continue in a BBC interview on Thursday.
Lin said that the Taiwan Relations Act and long-standing arms sales are part of the foundations of Taiwan-US ties, according to the foreign ministry. He pointed out that Taiwan secured two rounds of arms sales from the Trump administration last year totaling more than US$11 billion (NT$344.9 billion).
Lin cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks in June, saying that pending arms sales remain under review rather than being suspended.
In response to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's comment in May that “the era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over,” Lin said the issue is related to “burden sharing.” He noted that Taiwan has already raised its defense budget to 3.3% of GDP and plans to increase it to 5% by 2030 to deter a Chinese invasion.
The foreign minister warned that China’s military expansion affects the entire Pacific region and urged like-minded countries along the First Island Chain to strengthen cooperation to respond to authoritarian expansion.
Lin said that following the US-China summit in May, the Trump administration has reaffirmed that its Taiwan policy remains unchanged and that bilateral ties will continue to deepen. Trump emphasized last year that “Taiwan is Taiwan,” he said.
