Taiwan watches Xi-Trump meeting closely, hopes US arms sales continue
Taiwan's government expressed confidence that US arms sales to the island would continue, even as China's head of state visited Washington for a summit with the US administration.
China has pressed Washington to halt US arms sales to Taiwan, most prominently at an earlier summit between the two sides in Beijing in May 2026.
Following that May 2026 meeting, the US paused the sale of a reported $14 billion arms package to Taiwan; the package has been described in US commentary as a point of leverage in the broader trade relationship with China.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence stated that the US government and Congress have "repeatedly expressed support" for Taiwan's self-defense capabilities, and China's leadership was expected to again press for an end to US arms sales during the Washington visit.
Taiwan Relations Act, 1979
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) is a US domestic law, not a treaty, enacted after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing on January 1, 1979. It is the legal basis on which the US maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan and continues to supply it with defensive arms.
Key Details
- Enacted April 10, 1979 (codified at 22 U.S.C. Chapter 48); it followed the US-China Joint Communiqué of 1978 establishing diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China
- Commits the US to make available "defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability," with the President and Congress — not Beijing — determining the scope of such sales
- It is not a mutual-defense treaty; it does not obligate US military intervention in a cross-strait conflict, distinguishing it from formal alliance commitments
- Also mandates that the US consider any effort to determine Taiwan's future by non-peaceful means (including boycotts or embargoes) a matter of "grave concern" to the US
The TRA is the standing legal authority under which the paused $14 billion package would proceed; Taiwan's confidence in continued sales rests on this statute rather than on any bilateral defence pact.
The One-China Policy: Three Communiqués and the Six Assurances
The US "one-China" policy is distinct from China's "one-China principle." It is built on three US-China Joint Communiqués and is qualified by a separate, less-known set of assurances given directly to Taiwan.
Key Details
- Three US-China Joint Communiqués: 1972 (Shanghai Communiqué, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is one China without endorsing it), 1978 (Normalization Communiqué, establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing), and 1982 (August 17 Communiqué, in which the US stated it did not seek a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan and would gradually reduce them)
- To offset the 1982 Communiqué's arms-reduction language, the Reagan administration delivered the "Six Assurances" to Taiwan on July 14, 1982 — including that the US would not set a date for ending arms sales, would not consult Beijing in advance on Taiwan arms sales, and would not recognise Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan
- The US one-China policy therefore differs from a full diplomatic "one-China principle": Washington "acknowledges" but does not explicitly endorse Beijing's sovereignty claim over Taiwan
- India separately maintains its own "one-China" policy in bilateral statements with Beijing, a comparative point occasionally tested in IR current affairs
China's pressure to end arms sales sits squarely within this Communiqué framework, while Taiwan and the US rely on the Six Assurances to justify continuing sales despite the 1982 language on gradual reduction.
US Arms Sales Process: Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Military Sales
US arms transfers to Taiwan proceed as Foreign Military Sales (FMS) under the Arms Export Control Act, 1976, a general statutory framework used for arms sales to all countries, applied to Taiwan as a special case because it lacks formal diplomatic relations with the US.
Key Details
- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notifies the US Congress of proposed major sales, which can object within a statutory review period before a sale proceeds
- Sales to Taiwan are conducted through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the US's unofficial representative body in Taipei, mirroring Taiwan's own unofficial mission structure in Washington
- The reported $14 billion package under discussion would rank among the larger Taiwan arms packages in recent years, reflecting continued US congressional support for Taiwan's defense capacity even amid trade-truce diplomacy with Beijing
The pause announced after the May 2026 Beijing meeting is a pause in executive-level processing of this package, not a legal barrier — Congress retains an independent voice under the FMS notification process, which is why Taiwan expressed continued confidence in eventual delivery.
- Taiwan Relations Act enacted: April 10, 1979
- Three US-China Joint Communiqués: 1972, 1978, 1982
- Six Assurances delivered to Taiwan: July 14, 1982
- Reported pending US arms package for Taiwan: approximately $14 billion, paused after the May 2026 Beijing summit
- Governing US arms-transfer statute: Arms Export Control Act, 1976; sales conducted via the American Institute in Taiwan