Taiwan Says US Arms Talks Continue Post-Trump-Xi Summit — SkimNews
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- Wellington Koo, Taiwan's defence minister, told reporters at parliament in Taipei on Sept 29 that the government is in "continuous discussions" with the US on ongoing military sales cases and has received no notifications of changes.
- Taiwan said it has "repeatedly received explanations from the US side" since the Washington Trump-Xi summit that US policy toward Taiwan has not changed.
- Donald Trump, after meeting Xi Jinping in Washington, said only that the Chinese leader understands his position on Taiwan, following a May Beijing trip where Trump held a roughly $14 billion arms package in abeyance after Beijing's objections.
- Taiwan has a backlog of previously ordered weapons yet to be delivered, most notably 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V fighters ordered in 2019, equipped with avionics and radar upgrades to counter China's J-20 stealth fighters.
- Taiwan media report that the first two F-16Vs are currently in Hawaii awaiting their delivery flight; Koo confirmed production has reached a deliverable stage but cited "compensation measures" for the delay.
- The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act legally obligates Washington to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, a commitment that operates without formal US-Taiwan diplomatic ties.
Why it matters: The post-summit reassurance matters because Beijing publicly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and Trump's May decision to shelve the $14 billion package suggested leverage was shifting toward China; Taiwan's readout that policy is unchanged — combined with movement on the 2019 F-16V order — preserves the pipeline of defensive weapons Beijing most wants frozen.
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