US Navy chief: Arms sales to Taiwan on 'pause' for Iran munitions

The acting US Navy chief says arms sales to Taiwan have been put on "pause".

Hung Cao told a congressional hearing it was to "make sure we have the munitions" needed for the war in Iran.

But Taiwan says it had "no information" about "adjustments" to the deal.

Arms sales to Taiwan had been put on "pause" to ensure the American military has sufficient munitions for its Iran operations, according to the US Navy's acting secretary.

When asked about the stalled $19.6 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, acting Secretary Hung Cao told a congressional hearing that "right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury — which we have plenty".

" But, we're just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary. "

The US State Department and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mr Cao's remarks.

American politicians approved the $19.6 billion arms sale to Taiwan in January, although the deal cannot proceed until Mr Trump formally submits it to US Congress.

Taiwan's Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said there was "no information indicating that the US intends to make any adjustments to this arms sale".

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference on Friday that Beijing's "position of resolute opposition to US arms sales to China's Taiwan region is consistent, clear and firm".

US President Donald Trump has not committed to following through with the sale, raising concerns over his commitment to support for Taiwan.

The United States recognises only Beijing, but under US law is required to provide weapons to the self-ruled democracy for its defence.

China has sworn to take the island and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure in recent years.

Ahead of his visit last week to China, Mr Trump said he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the arms sales, a departure from Washington's previous insistence that it will not consult Beijing on the matter.

But after the visit, Mr Trump said he made no commitments to Mr Xi about Taiwan and would be making a determination on the arms sales "over the next fairly short period of time".

Mr Trump's administration also authorised a separate $15.4 billion weapons package for Taipei in December, but it has yet to move forward.

AFP/AP