Trump stays open on Taiwan weapons after China trip

President Donald Trump said after returning from China that he had not decided whether to approve more weapons for Taiwan, leaving a central security question unanswered after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He offered no public assurance that Washington would move ahead with a package already pending on Capitol Hill, according to an Associated Press report carried by WHEC.

Whether the administration would follow through on a transfer at the centre of US-China ties remained unclear. Trump has spoken publicly about stabilising the relationship with Beijing, but he did not say whether that effort would extend to a Taiwan package that Xi raised directly, according to an AP report carried by Netscape News.

“I will make a determination,” Trump said. Xi had pressed him on the issue during the trip. “That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don’t talk about that,” Trump said in a CNBC interview. The administration was still weighing how to handle the Taiwan package even after the two leaders had met.

Lawmakers approved a pending $14 billion arms sale for Taiwan in January, according to the AP account. Trump’s administration had already authorised an $11 billion weapons package in December. The figures leave Taipei, led by President Lai Ching-te, without an answer on whether Washington will keep moving arms after a summit meant to steady ties.

What remains unresolved

Trump gave no timetable for a final decision and did not say whether his conversations with Xi had changed his view of the package. His limited public comments left open whether the White House was still on the track it set in December or whether the Beijing meeting had introduced a fresh pause. For Taiwan, the question is immediate: a specific sale is sitting in the queue.

In the CNBC interview, Trump framed the issue in terms of avoiding a wider conflict, saying “the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.” The remark, also reported by CNBC, did not answer whether he would approve the transfer. It reflected his effort to avoid a sudden break with Taiwan while keeping pressure off relations with Beijing.

Trump said he had discussed Taiwan arms sales with Xi and would decide soon, Reuters reported. That stopped short of a public commitment on a package lawmakers had already approved.

Trump has not said the pending sale will be cancelled. He has not said it will proceed. Until he makes the determination he promised, the weapons question hangs over the next phase of US-China diplomacy and over Washington’s dealings with Taiwan.