A bipartisan group of senators asked President Donald Trump to announce the sale of new weapons to Taiwan, marking a public flash of frustration ahead of his visit to China this week.
In a letter, eight senators — six Democrats and two Republicans — urged the president to notify Congress of $14 billion in planned sales to Taiwan. The assistance has been delayed for months, reportedly out of concern that it would anger Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his summit with Trump.
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The topic of Taiwan, a democratic island whose independence is disputed by China, is a top concern of Xi. For decades, the United States has declined to say whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, but successive administrations have provided billions in assistance to deter military action, and Xi wants Trump to soften that posture.
When asked about the assistance, Trump has repeatedly told reporters that he is “talking” with Xi about it.
“Ahead of your summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, we urge you and your team to make clear that America’s support for Taiwan is inviolable,” the senators said in the letter, dated Friday and released Monday.
Among the signatories are Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, and Sen. John Curtis (R-UT). The pair led a congressional delegation to Taiwan in March, urging the Taiwanese government to raise its defense spending commitments.
Taiwanese legislators subsequently approved a $25 billion special defense budget on Friday, a move the senators pointed to as a sign the island is living up to its end of the bargain.
“Just as Taiwan’s leaders demonstrated unity in support of their people’s defense, so too must we move ahead with pending U.S. arms sales vital to our own national interests,” the senators wrote. “You can make clear to Beijing that as you seek to level the economic playing field, American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation.”
The letter was sent days before Trump travels to China on Tuesday for his first face-to-face meeting with Xi since October and the first time a U.S. president has traveled there in almost a decade. In their letter, the senators alluded to a trade war with China that consumed the first months of Trump’s second term and has since been paused. Also looming over the trip is the Iran war, which initially delayed the meeting with Xi by a month.
The competing priorities have raised fears that Trump will alter the U.S. stance on Taiwan in exchange for economic or military concessions from China.
In December, Trump approved a separate $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan, but the $14 billion in assistance was held up by the State Department after getting the blessing of senior lawmakers in January.
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Trump’s expected discussions with Xi about the assistance have drawn accusations that he is violating a long-standing commitment not to consult with China on arms sales to Taiwan. The $14 billion will include surface-to-air missiles and other defensive weaponry Taiwan would need in the event of an attack.
