US Republican and Democratic lawmakers have urged US President Donald Trump’s administration to continue with weapons sales to Taiwan after Trump on Friday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with an arms package for the nation.
Trump made the statement en route to Washington after a state visit to China.
He said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “talked a lot about Taiwan” during their meeting and confirmed Xi had brought up the weapons sale.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Taiwan has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, with lawmakers consistently pressing the Trump administration to move forward with a US$14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which was approved by the Congress in January, but has been delayed.
US Representative Michael McCaul was quoted by CBS News as saying that the US must “arm Taiwan so they can defend themselves for deterrence against Chairman Xi.”
During the summit, Xi was “very aggressive” regarding Taiwan and “most of what [Xi] talked about was Taiwan,” McCaul was cited as saying.
US Representative Gregory Meeks also stressed the importance of US support for Taiwan’s defenses.
Meeks was among those who had urged Trump ahead of the summit to approve the delayed package before meeting with Xi, “warning that delaying Taiwan arms sales could weaken deterrence of Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait,” CBS News reported.
“I think it is important for us to make sure that Taiwan does have what it needs to defend itself,” it reported Meeks as saying.
Xi has “leverage over the president,” but not “over the US Congress and the American people,” Meeks said, adding that the US Congress has already acted on the package and “the president is the one that’s holding it up.”
US Representative John Moolenaar also expressed his support in a social media post, saying: “The Chinese Communist Party has never governed Taiwan yet continues to threaten force.”
The US “will stand by its commitments, support Taiwan’s defense, and oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” he added.
US senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Chris Murphy, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley, Cory Booker, Brian Schatz, Chris Van Hollen, Tammy Duckworth and Jacky Rosen in a joint statement after the Trump-Xi meeting said that they were “deeply disturbed by President Trump’s refusal to defend America’s support for Taiwan during this summit, including by consulting with President Xi regarding US obligations to help provide for Taiwan’s defense.”
“We call on the administration to formally notify the US$14 billion in US arms sales that Congress pre-approved in January 2026. As established by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979,” they said, adding that the US Congress will continue to ensure that the US supports Taiwan, including by rejecting any attempt to alter the “status quo” by force or coercion.
US Representative Zachary Nunn said the US will “stand firm” if China continues to be “belligerent” on Taiwan, while US Representative Greg Stanton said that any move on Taiwan by Xi could trigger a global recession, adding the US “must support the people of Taiwan in their self defense.”
US senator John Curtis said the special defense budget bill that Taiwan recently passed is a crucial investment in deterrence and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and it demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to its self-defense and readiness to procure defense systems from the US.
The US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan fulfills the US’ long-standing commitment to Taiwan and would help safeguard US national and economic security, he added.
US Representative Ro Khanna, Ranking Member of the US House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, told CBS News that he is “concerned about” Taiwan following Trump’s meeting with Xi.
“The Taiwan Relations Act from 1979 is clear that the United States will support Taiwan to make sure that China does not use military coercion. The reality is, as people know, that China is tightening the noose around Taiwan,” he said.
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