The United States “very much” understands Taiwan’s defence needs and the severe military threat it faces from China, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Sunday, following a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Taiwan has been waiting for months for Trump to approve a new US arms sales package worth about $14 billion. The proposed deal would follow an $11 billion arms package unveiled in December last year, described as a record deal for Taiwan.
Taiwan, which is democratically governed and claimed by China as its territory, has made defence spending a central concern as Beijing continues to expand its military capabilities. Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said Washington understood both the threat facing the island and Taipei’s determination to strengthen its armed forces.
“Taiwan faces a severe situation in the Taiwan Strait. Even though China’s economy is declining, it continues investing more resources into building military capacity. Under this context, the US very much understands our defence needs,” Chen said.
He added that Taiwan remained in regular communication with Washington and believed US officials fully understood the situation confronting the island and its commitment to defence investment.
“We do continuously communicate with them, and we believe the US understands the situation we face and our determination on defence investment completely,” Chen said.
Trump has not yet approved the latest arms package. After meeting Xi in Beijing in May, he said the proposed sales were being kept in abeyance. He has not publicly referred to the package since last week’s summit with Xi, saying only on Saturday that the Chinese president understood his position on Taiwan.
Chen referred to comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that military sales require careful consideration, regardless of the recipient. Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister said those comments were consistent with Washington’s understanding of the island’s defence requirements.
The United States is legally required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, while China has repeatedly demanded an end to US arms sales to the island. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China and has opposed military support from Washington.
David Perdue, the US ambassador to China, told CNBC on Friday that there had been no change in Trump’s Taiwan policy, including on arms sales. Chen said Taipei had repeatedly received confirmation from Washington that US policy remained unchanged.
“From our American friends repeatedly that US policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged,” Chen said, referring to the assurances Taiwan had received.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and maintains that only the people of Taiwan can determine the island’s future. Chinese authorities have rejected repeated calls for talks from Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing describes as a “separatist”.
