US Suspends Weapon Sales to Taiwan
- A Pentagon official announced Thursday that arms sales to Taiwan were suspended.
- The reason cited was the risk of running out of ammunition for the war led by the US in Iran.
- This announcement comes just days after Donald Trump’s historic visit to China.
It’s a contentious issue that has long divided the US and China. On Thursday, Hung Cao, acting Navy minister, indicated that American arms sales to Taiwan, a point of contention between Washington and Beijing, were now halted. “For now, we are taking a break,” said the Department of Defense official during a parliamentary hearing on a currently blocked $14 billion arms acquisition destined for the region.
According to him, this delivery is deemed “sufficient.” But the other reason cited is quite surprising: the risk of running out of ammunition “for Operation Epic Fury,” the name of the military campaign launched on February 28 by the US and Israel against Iran. “We just want to ensure that we have everything we need, then foreign military sales will resume when the administration deems it necessary.”
“A Very Good Negotiating Asset”
By the end of 2025, Washington had approved the second arms sale to Taiwan since Donald Trump returned to power, worth $11.1 billion. But the Republican president has been reserved in his response regarding the continuation of deliveries desired by Taipei. After his historic visit to Beijing last week, Donald Trump stated that their continuation “depended on China” and served as “a very good negotiating asset.”
Washington, on its part, is obligated to provide defensive weapons to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, a law adopted by the US Congress in 1979, following the recognition of the People’s Republic of China by the United States… but on the condition that Taipei does not declare independence.
Read also
Donald Trump promises “a fabulous future” with China, Xi Jinping mentions a risk of “conflict” over Taiwan
On Wednesday, Donald Trump assured that he would soon speak to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about these arms sales, a conversation that would break four decades of diplomatic protocol and has been denounced in advance by Beijing. The “firm opposition position of Beijing to American arms sales to the Chinese region of Taiwan is constant, clear, and firm,” reiterated a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs a few days ago.
