TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan is closely watching President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday as Beijing presses Washington to stop arms sales to the island.
A proposed $14 billion U.S. weapons package for Taiwan remains on hold.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it would maintain close contact with Washington and continue working to advance arms purchases.
Xi arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit. Taiwan is expected to be among the most sensitive issues in his talks with Trump.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly demanded that the United States stop selling weapons to the island.
Reuters reported that Xi is expected to raise the issue with Trump during their September 24 meeting. Chinese officials are expected to cite Beijing’s interpretation of the 1982 U.S.-China joint communiqué.
For Taipei, the concern is not only whether the pending package will eventually be approved.
It is also whether Washington’s approach to arms sales could change as Trump seeks agreements with Beijing on trade, security and other issues.
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A $14 billion package remains on hold
The proposed package became a major point of uncertainty after Trump met Xi in Beijing in May.
Trump later said he had discussed Taiwan arms sales with Xi. He described the roughly $14 billion package as a “very good negotiating chip.”
The administration has since kept the package in abeyance.
The package would provide Taiwan with additional military equipment. Its precise final composition has not been publicly detailed in full.
Taiwan is also dealing with a backlog of previously approved U.S. weapons.
That means the uncertainty involves more than a future purchase. Taipei is also waiting for some weapons that have already been approved.
Four Republican senators on Wednesday urged the administration to release more than $15 billion in stalled security assistance for Taiwan.
Their letter cited $300 million in foreign military financing that had not moved forward, along with $1 billion that the Defense Department had not obligated. It also cited the separate $14 billion arms package that remains pending.
Taipei says arms procurement will continue
Taiwanese Defense Ministry deputy spokesperson Chiao Fu-chun said Wednesday that Taipei would continue communicating with the U.S. government and work to advance arms sales according to plan.
He said security and stability in the Indo-Pacific were a common interest of democratic countries.
Taiwan has also been increasing its own defense spending and developing more weapons domestically.
The island is expanding programs involving submarines, fighter aircraft and long-range missiles.
Taiwan recently conducted military exercises featuring domestically developed equipment and U.S.-made weapons, including HIMARS systems. Earlier drills also included missiles and attack drones.
The exercises took place ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting. Taiwan has not said they were intended as a direct response to the summit.
China has made arms sales a central Taiwan demand
Beijing’s opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is longstanding.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes American military support for the island.
Ahead of the Washington summit, Reuters reported that Xi was expected to press Trump to halt the sales. Chinese officials were expected to invoke the 1982 U.S.-China joint communiqué.
Under that communiqué, Washington said it intended to gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan.
However, an accompanying memorandum from then-President Ronald Reagan stated that the U.S. position was conditioned on China continuing to pursue a peaceful approach to differences with Taiwan.
The issue also involves other U.S. commitments toward Taiwan.
The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. U.S. law nevertheless provides a framework for supplying the island with defensive weapons.
The Taiwan Relations Act directs Washington to make available defense articles and services to Taiwan.
Successive U.S. administrations have also maintained strategic ambiguity over whether the United States would intervene militarily in a conflict.
The 1982 framework cited by Beijing is accompanied by the U.S. “Six Assurances” to Taiwan. Among other points, those assurances state that Washington has not agreed to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan or to consult Beijing before making such sales.
Washington’s policy leaves room for negotiation
The Trump administration has also placed greater emphasis on arms transfers as part of U.S. foreign policy.
A February executive order established an “America First Arms Transfer Strategy.” The policy directs the U.S. government to use foreign military sales to strengthen U.S. defense production and supply chains while prioritizing sales according to American strategic interests.
That policy provides broader context for the Taiwan issue.
Washington is seeking to expand defense production while managing existing delivery backlogs and other military requirements.
Taiwan’s pending package therefore sits within wider questions about U.S. weapons production, available inventories and competing defense demands.
The administration has said U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June that the proposed $14 billion package remained under review and that Washington does not consult Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan is seeking reassurance before the summit
Taiwanese officials have expressed confidence that the security relationship with Washington will continue.
They have pointed to the existing legal framework supporting Taiwan’s self-defense and emphasized continued communication with the United States.
At the same time, uncertainty over the $14 billion package has become increasingly visible.
Taiwan is also watching the broader U.S.-China relationship.
Japanese lawmakers have raised concerns about the possibility that Taiwan could become part of wider negotiations between Washington and Beijing. Those concerns reflect the lawmakers’ assessment, not evidence of an agreement between Trump and Xi.
No agreement to change U.S. policy toward Taiwan had been publicly announced before the summit.
The Trump-Xi meeting could clarify the next step
Trump and Xi are meeting at the White House on September 24 during Xi’s three-day state visit to Washington.
Taiwan is expected to be one issue among several on the agenda. Trade, technology, critical minerals and the broader consequences of the war in Iran are also part of the wider U.S.-China relationship.
That makes the Taiwan arms question difficult to assess separately from the rest of the summit.
A delay does not necessarily mean cancellation.
Likewise, continued U.S. support for Taiwan does not guarantee that the pending package will be approved immediately.
For Taiwan, the practical questions are whether previously approved weapons will arrive on schedule and whether additional purchases will move forward.
For Beijing, the issue is whether Washington will continue military support for an island China claims as its territory.
For the Trump administration, Taiwan arms sales are part of a broader relationship with Beijing involving security, trade and strategic negotiations.
The September 24 meeting may not resolve the issue.
But any change in the status of Taiwan arms sales — whether approval, another delay or a new arrangement — would provide further information about how Washington is managing one of the most sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations.
Reporting Credit: White House — official framework and schedule for President Trump’s September 24 meeting with President Xi Jinping; Taiwan Ministry of National Defense — current position on continued U.S. arms procurement and defense activities; Taiwan Office of the President — statements on Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation and self-defense; U.S. Department of Defense — defense policy and arms-transfer information; U.S. government — Taiwan Relations Act and related policy framework.
