The Scoop
A bipartisan quartet of US senators are proposing a resolution on Friday that expresses support for defensive arms sales to Taiwan as President Donald Trump pauses $14 billion in weapons deals with the self-governing island.
The measure from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Chris Coons, D-Del., reaffirms congressional support for the Taiwan Relations Act, which allows US defensive weapons sales, and existing US policy on Taiwan.
Current US policy, the resolution notes, “includes support for Taiwan’s self-defense and opposition to efforts to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means.”
It also says that the US did not agree to “prior consultation” with China — which claims Taiwan as its own territory — on arms sales to the island. Trump has described the stalled weapons package, which Congress approved in January, as a “negotiating chip with China”; while the resolution does not explicitly mention the president or the pause, its broader implications are clear.
Chinese state media has already portrayed Trump’s comments about the paused sale as a sign that US support for Taiwan may be faltering.
“America’s support for Taiwan is non-negotiable,” Shaheen said in a statement, accusing Trump of failing to “defend US obligations to help provide for Taiwan’s defense, dangerously undermining deterrence against Chinese aggression” during his meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week.
Tillis said the US “must continue to stand firmly alongside the Taiwanese people and reaffirm our commitment to Taiwan’s security and right to self-determination free from coercion or intimidation.”
The Trump administration emphasized that US policy on Taiwan remains the same.
“As with all prospective foreign military sales and security assistance matters, the details remain predecisional until finalized by the President,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “Our Taiwan policy remains unchanged, and the US continues to adhere to long-standing commitment consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act.”
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Congress on Thursday that the package had been paused to ensure the US has sufficient weapons for the Iran war.
However, a source familiar with the process said Trump would make a decision on the arms sales “soon” and that the sales “take years to process and are unrelated to” the Iran operation.
The US military “has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond,” the source said.
Notable
- We noted last week that Trump’s summit with Xi did not result in many tangible commitments from China, and those that were announced may not be followed through upon, if the past is any guide.