Washington has reopened discussions on billions in arms sales to Taiwan, casting a shadow over a leaders’ summit just weeks away – a meeting already burdened by bilateral trade frictions.
US President Donald Trump is expected to submit a US$14 billion Taiwan arms package to the US Congress soon, according to senior Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul on Tuesday.
“I am confident the president will forward soon another package to Congress with an additional US$14 billion in critical military defence articles,” the Texas congressman said at a security forum during his third visit to Taiwan, where he received an award from the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te.
Although observers doubt the deal will go through before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the US, they warn that Taiwan is a strict red line and any arms package could derail bilateral talks.
The package remains under review by the Trump administration and was described by the US president as “a very good negotiating chip” with Beijing during his high-stakes state visit to China in May.
In the same month, acting US Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said the US$14 billion arms sale to Taiwan was paused to ensure American forces had enough weapons for the Iran war. McCaul added that US policy did not allow diplomatic relations with Beijing to “tie up arms sales to Taiwan”.