Including the release of US$14 billion in arms sales to Taiwan. Rubio: Still under evaluation
On the eve of the 24th summit between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, four Republican senators jointly sent a letter to Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary of War Hergseth, calling on the government to release more than US$15 billion in security assistance that should be delivered to Taiwan. They also admitted that they were worried about Trump's remarks about treating Taiwan as a bargaining chip. In this regard, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said that arms sales to Taiwan need to take into account factors such as the United States' own needs and are still under evaluation.
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Concerned about Trump’s “arms sales bargaining chip theory”
In December last year, the Trump administration approved the largest arms sale to Taiwan and the United States, worth US$11 billion, but another subsequent arms sale worth US$14 billion has been postponed to this day. The outside world, whether analyzing or quoting insiders, believes that Xi Jinping wants to use this Sichuan-Xi meeting to put pressure on arms sales to Taiwan.
In the letter, former Senate Majority Leader McConnell of Kentucky, Senator Cornyn of Texas, Senator Murkowski of Alaska, and Senator Tillis of North Carolina cited the U.S. government’s unfulfilled security assistance projects for Taiwan: the State Department failed to advance the US$300 million in foreign military financing that had been approved by Congress, the Department of War failed to deliver a billion US dollars, and the US$1.4 billion in arms sales were shelved by the Trump administration.
In the letter, the senators expressed concern about Trump's description of Taiwan as "an excellent bargaining chip in the fight with Xi Jinping and China." "It is difficult to imagine how the United States can reliably project effective deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region if the price of maintaining diplomatic decency is denying our allies critical deterrence capabilities."
The letter mentioned the case of former U.S. President Biden suspending military assistance to Ukraine before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2021, saying that delaying or denying assistance would test the strength of the United States and its security partners. Even though the government has guaranteed that Taiwan will not be on the negotiating table between Trump and Xi, the four lawmakers are still seriously concerned about the United States' commitment to Asia and key partners and allies around the world.
When asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Rubio told the media that the US government's consideration of arms sales to Taiwan is not limited to Taiwan's own situation, but a broader comprehensive assessment, including factors such as industrial production capacity and military industry base. "I understand that everyone is paying attention to Taiwan. But I want to ask you to look at the world at this moment. If we sell something, we will have nothing left. Maybe it can be produced in the future, but it is not in our hands now."
Rubio said that whenever arms sales are made to Taiwan or other countries, the United States will always evaluate its needs in other parts of the world or its own needs. These are the ongoing procedures for arms sales to Taiwan.
Bipartisan House members send letter to Trump
Stick to arms sales to Taiwan regardless of the CCP
At the same time, a total of seven members of the House of Representatives, led by Kim Ying-yu, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly wrote to Trump, urging him to clarify the U.S. position to Xi Jinping. Arms sales to Taiwan without first consulting the CCP does not violate the U.S.-China one-China policy. They called on Trump to confirm that on the Taiwan issue, strengthening Taiwan's self-defense capabilities through additional arms sales and other means, and maintaining the long-term policy toward Taiwan guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three U.S.-China Communiqués and the Six Assurances, are crucial to U.S. security.
