Nearly half of Taiwanese lack confidence in continued US military aid

Nearly half of Taiwanese lack confidence that Washington will continue military aid and arms sales to the island, according to a new survey released on Monday ahead of this week’s Trump–Xi summit.

The poll by Taiwan-based United Daily News found 47 per cent were not confident the United States would continue providing military assistance and selling weapons to Taiwan, slightly exceeding the 44 per cent who remained confident. Nine per cent had no opinion.

Conducted by the newspaper since 2010, the annual survey also found fluctuating expectations about direct American military support.

Two years ago, 49 per cent believed the US would send troops to help defend Taiwan, compared with 42 per cent who thought it would not. Last year, 49 per cent said Washington would not intervene.