Democratic Congress to guard US’ Taiwan policy and press Trump on arms sales

The Democratic US Congress may push for faster arms sales to Taiwan following the party’s resounding midterm election victories, but there will be no fundamental shifts in broader US policy towards the island, according to analysts.

And if the likely next House speaker, Hakeem Jeffries – a long-time supporter of Taiwan – “crosses the red line” on the issue, Beijing was expected to take strong countermeasures, one analyst said.

“A Democratic-controlled Congress will ramp up pressure on Trump to expedite the approval of the US$14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, while introducing various bills to demonstrate support for Taiwan and prevent Trump from ‘selling it out’,” said Shao Yuqun, director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Studies and senior fellow at the Centre for American Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

US President Donald Trump had previously suggested that the US$14 billion package, which has been on hold for months, was a “good negotiation” chip in broader talks with Beijing, even as bipartisan lawmakers signed letters urging the administration to approve and formally notify the sale immediately.