WASHINGTON — A planned U.S. arms notification to Congress for Taiwan is not contingent on discussions with Beijing, the State Department’s top East Asia diplomat said Thursday, countering remarks by President Donald Trump that suggested otherwise.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that the decision on the roughly $14 billion weapons package remains under White House review and “is not in any way a deviation from the Six Assurances,” a long-standing U.S. policy pledging that arms sales to Taiwan will not be negotiated with China.
Trump has introduced uncertainty about the sale after saying in May that he had raised the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping and described the package as a “bargaining chip” he held “in abeyance,” comments that alarmed Taiwanese officials. DeSombre confirmed that Taiwan and arms sales are routinely discussed in U.S.-China meetings, but stressed such conversations do not set conditions on weapons transfers.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and strongly opposes U.S. arms sales to the island, calling them interference in its internal affairs. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has said the island will not be “sacrificed or traded” following Trump’s remarks.
Although Washington does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, U.S. law requires it to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and the United States remains the island’s main security partner and largest arms supplier. In December, the Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms package, the largest to date, while officials continue to review the current proposal.