Trump to Decide $14B Taiwan Arms Deal After Xi Talk
SkimNews Take
Trump's public disclosure of discussing Taiwan arms sales with Xi, while simultaneously claiming no commitment, signals a strategic move to leverage the issue as a point of negotiation rather than a fixed policy.
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- Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on May 15 he made no commitment to Xi on Taiwan, and will decide on a US$14 billion (S$17.92 billion) arms deal "over the next fairly short period" after speaking to whoever is "running Taiwan"
- Xi Jinping asked Trump directly whether the US would defend Taiwan in a conflict; Trump refused to answer publicly, saying "I don't talk about that"
- Reagan's 1982 six assurances explicitly bar the US from consulting China on Taiwan arms sales — Trump called 1982 "a long way" away when asked if he was undermining them
- Trump cast doubt on the arms package, saying "the last thing we need right now is a war that's 9,500 miles away"
- Xi issued a blunt warning that "the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-US relations" and that mishandling it could cause "collision or even clashes"
- Marco Rubio insisted US Taiwan policy is "unchanged," while the US readout of the May 14 meeting made no mention of Taiwan at all
- China has asked the US to officially declare it "opposes" Taiwan independence, and Xi is set to return to the White House in September for a second of four planned 2026 meetings
Why it matters: Trump's willingness to discuss a Taiwan arms package with Xi — and his dismissal of the 1982 six assurances as "a long way" away — could erode a bipartisan pillar of US Taiwan policy, inviting congressional backlash while giving Beijing leverage ahead of Xi's September White House visit.
