US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his pending decision on further arms sales to the island of Taiwan claimed by China was an effective means of pressuring Beijing.
He said he was leaving the arms deal, worth $14 billion and already approved by the US Congress, up in the air.
"It depends on China," Trump told broadcaster Fox News. "It's a very good negotiating chip for us frankly. It's a lot of weapons."
Trump had previously said during his return flight from Beijing to the United States that he would make a decision in the near future. He said, however, that he first had to speak to Taiwan about it. The US Congress pre-approved the latest arms deal with Taiwan in January 2025.
China rejects such arms sales because it claims Taiwan for itself even though the island republic has an independent and democratic government.
Taiwan was never part of the communist People's Republic founded in 1949. Nevertheless China wants to absorb Taiwan. Beijing has already threatened to use military force if this does not work by peaceful means. The United States has long supported Taiwan's efforts to modernize its armed forces and strengthen its defence capabilities.
Taiwan sees purchases as important for stability
Taiwan's Deputy Foreign minister Chen Ming-chi said US arms sales to Taiwan "have always been a cornerstone of peace and stability in the region. He said the US position on Taiwan had not changed, so Taiwan's position on arms sales had not changed either.
What was also crucial, he said, was that Taiwan itself showed its determination to defend itself and was prepared to invest funds in expanding its defence. Taiwan would continue to communicate with the US to gain more clarity.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung said on Saturday that the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit showed that US policy toward Taiwan had not changed in any way. He added that the US had made no commitments to China regarding arms sales to Taiwan.
Shen said it is China that is attempting to alter the status quo around the Taiwan Strait, and it is the People's Republic that is the real troublemaker undermining regional stability and development.
Shen stressed that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other.
"The PRC has never governed Taiwan for even a single day — this is a sufficient and objective fact. Beijing’s ‘One China’ narrative, no matter how many times it is repeated or how many people echo it, cannot change the reality of the situation across the Taiwan Strait,” Shen said.
Xi warns Trump over Taiwan
China's state and party leader Xi Jinping had warned in talks with Trump in Beijing on Thursday of possible conflicts with the US if the Taiwan issue was handled badly. This could put relations between China and the US in an "extremely dangerous situation," he said.
Trump stressed in the Fox News interview that he had spoken at length with Xi about the issue. Taiwan had always been the most important thing for China's state and party leader. He said he did not believe "they will do anything" as long as he was in office - apparently with a view to possible military action by Beijing against Taiwan. At the same time, the US president stressed that he wanted everything to remain as it currently was.
Why China suspects Taiwan's independence ambitions
The Democratic Progressive Party has been in power in Taipei since 2016. Because Taiwan's independence is part of its programme, Beijing views the government as separatists.
President Lai Ching-te, however, said he was not seeking formal independence because, in his view, the island state with its 23 million inhabitants is in effect already an independent country. Taiwan's opposition, which has a majority in parliament and advocates more exchange with China, recently pushed through its own proposal for an extensive special defence budget which envisages further purchases of US weapons.
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