Taiwan: No US Word on $14B Arms Sale Pause
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Taiwan's presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo told reporters in Taipei on Friday that officials had seen reports of a pause on the $14 billion sale but had received "no information regarding any adjustments" from Washington.
- Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Senate appropriators Thursday the military is "doing a pause" on some foreign military sales to preserve munitions for "Epic Fury," the Iran war operation, with the call ultimately resting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- Cao's remarks appeared to contradict Trump, who earlier in the week said he might hold off on the Taiwan sale as a "negotiating chip" with China — which views Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to take it by force.
- The $14 billion sale was approved by the US in January but cannot move forward until Trump formally submits it to Congress; a separate $11 billion Taiwan deal authorized in December has also not been advanced.
- The pause comes amid reports the US has burned through thousands of missiles since the Iran war began Feb. 28, though administration officials insist munitions stockpiles are not strained.
Why it matters: The $14 billion Taiwan sale and a separate $11 billion December deal — $25 billion in stalled arms combined — leave Taipei unsure whether the hold reflects Trump's China "negotiating chip" strategy or Cao's Iran war munitions rationale. With Trump yet to formally submit the January deal to Congress, Taiwan's self-defense upgrades are frozen between two competing US policy priorities, and Beijing is watching a potential leverage point widen.
