Taiwan is awaiting Trump's decision on a $14 billion arms sale amid closer U.S. ties with China
Kyiv • UNN
Taipei is awaiting Trump's decision on $14 billion worth of arms, a significant portion of which consists of air defense systems. Washington promises to make a decision quickly.
Taiwan’s representative in the United States, Alexander Yu, said he expects President Donald Trump to approve a new $14 billion arms package for the island. Taipei insists that Washington’s policy toward Taiwan has not changed, despite Trump’s increased contacts with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to Yu, a decision on the arms deliveries could be made more quickly, but Taiwan expects to receive the weapons it needs. According to Bloomberg, a significant part of the package is expected to consist of air defense systems.
The United States understands very well the threat we are under, and I am confident that it will provide us with the equipment we need
Decision promised "quite quickly"
A senior U.S. administration official told Bloomberg that Trump would make a decision on the arms package "quite quickly," but did not specify a timeframe.
Uncertainty surrounding the deliveries arose amid Trump’s contacts with Xi Jinping. Earlier, the U.S. president called arms sales to Taiwan "a very good bargaining chip" in negotiations with Beijing.
Yu stressed that ahead of Trump and Xi’s upcoming meetings, Taiwan’s main task is to ensure that the issue of the island does not become a bargaining chip between the two countries. According to him, it is necessary to "make sure Taiwan is not on the menu."
In December, Trump approved a record $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan. At the same time, the State Department stressed that U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and that Washington has no plans for such deliveries.