Taiwan presses case for US arms after Trump says not decided on new sales

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have always been a cornerstone of regional peace and stability and are something confirmed in U.S. law, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Saturday after President Donald Trump said he had not decided on future sales.

Despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, the U.S. is the most important international backer for democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. Washington is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide weapons to the island.

But on Friday after a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Trump said he has not decided whether to proceed with a major weapons sale, adding to uncertainty about U.S. support for Taiwan.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Saturday, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said U.S. arms sales are something confirmed under the Taiwan Relations Act.

"Taiwan-U.S. arms sales have always been a cornerstone of regional peace and stability," he said.

In December, the Trump administration approved a record $11 billion arms sale package for Taiwan. Reuters has reported a second one, worth around $14 billion, still awaits Trump's approval.

Chen declined to comment on the second package because it has yet to be made public, saying Taiwan will continue to communicate with and understand the situation from the U.S. side.

In comments to journalists after his summit with Xi, Trump appeared to suggest he would speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te about the proposed sale, saying, "I have to speak to the person ... that's running Taiwan."

Asked about that possibility, Chen said Taiwan still needed to try to understand the "true intent" of Trump's remarks.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has rebuffed repeated offers of talks from Lai, whom it says is a "separatist".

Chen said that the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, is a "sovereign and independent country".

"And only the 23 million people of Taiwan can decide our own future through democratic means."

-Ben Blanchard/Reuters