US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said there has been no change in US policy on Taiwan and that Washington wants to see the “status quo” preserved.
“The most important thing to understand is we want to see the status quo preserved as-is at this moment. That’s our policy, that’s what we’ve said, that’s what we continue to say,” Rubio said at a US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing, in response to questions regarding a stalled US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan.
“It’s a very ... delicate relationship to balance, but our policy on Taiwan is not changing,” Rubio said.
Photo: Reuters
Last month’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing led to some concern in Taipei about the US’ commitment to help the nation defend itself.
Trump after the meeting had said arms sales to Taiwan were a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China.
Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration is holding up a potential US$US14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, but said it remained under consideration and would not be canceled.
The US sold arms to Taiwan in December last year worth US$11 billion, he said.
The deal is not under review because of pressure from China, he said, but added that the Chinese side brings up the issue during discussions with Washington.
“They are constantly talking about Taiwan arms sales, but that in no way is what is holding up our decisionmaking or the White House’s decisionmaking,” Rubio said.
“It is something the president will have to decide on the timing of when and how that is executed on,” he added.
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