US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said.
The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify.
The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said.
Photo: Reuters
The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit.
Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to Taipei with the “utmost caution,” the Chinese government said after the call.
Beijing would never allow Taiwan to be “separated” from China, Xi was cited as telling Trump.
The US Department of State did not comment on the pending arms sales, but said that the US administration “has been very clear” that Washington’s commitment to Taiwan continues.
The arms package is worth about US$13 billion, larger than the US$11 billion previously announced in December last year, the New York Times said, citing one of the officials.
The Financial Times in January reported that the US is preparing a new round of arms sales to Taiwan, which has unsettled Chinese officials.
The US and Taiwan finalized a trade agreement last month, further linking the two economies. That deal cuts tariff rates, boosts market access for US products in Asia and channels billions of dollars into US energy and technology projects.
In Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said that how the US conducts its diplomacy is for the US to decide.
“Taiwan’s approach is to act in its own national interest and try to secure the best possible defense systems,” he said.
Acknowledging the complexity and volatility of the international situation, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said the KMT has always respected the US’ strategic timing and considerations in diplomacy and security.
The KMT hopes that the US would continue to honor its commitments, helping Taiwan bolster its self-defense capabilities and improve overall deterrence, he added.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu and Liu Wan-lin
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