TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump denied approval of US$400 million (NT$12.1 billion) in military aid to Taiwan this summer as he tries to secure a trade deal and potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Sources told The Washington Post the decision could still be reversed, but it could signal a shift in US policy toward Taiwan. The package reportedly included munitions and autonomous drones with greater lethality than previous US aid.
A White House official said no final decision has been made on the aid package. Taiwan’s representative office in Washington declined to comment.
Former Pentagon official Dan Blumenthal, now at the American Enterprise Institute, told the newspaper, “This would be exactly the wrong time for the US to take the foot off the gas pedal.”
The report said that to reach a broad trade deal with Beijing, the Trump administration has toned down US-China competition, including relaxing high-end semiconductor export controls and postponing enforcement of the congressional TikTok ban. Some concessions have raised eyebrows of former Trump officials and Republican lawmakers, who fear the US is weakening its defense support for Taiwan.
In recent weeks, senior Trump officials have reportedly engaged in talks with Chinese counterparts as the president readies for a possible fall summit with Xi.
Following Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy, he believes Taiwan, given its robust economy, should fund its own arms purchases like European countries. Four sources revealed that US and Taiwanese defense officials reached a major arms sales agreement during a meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in August.
Taiwan plans to use a supplementary defense budget under review by the Legislative Yuan to fund a new arms package worth several billion US dollars. Sources said it consists mainly of asymmetric systems such as drones, missiles, and coastal sensors.
However, Taiwan may face years-long delays before receiving these next-generation weapons. The country is also still awaiting deliveries of previously purchased arms worth billions, including F-16 fighter jets and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
In his second term, Trump has sent mixed signals toward Beijing and Taipei, from abruptly starting a trade war with China in April to accusing Taiwan of stealing US semiconductor technology. His administration also canceled senior-level US-Taiwan defense talks and denied President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) transit through New York and Dallas in August.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that China will not launch an invasion of Taiwan during his presidency. A congressional aide said that the Trump administration this week informally notified Congress of a possible US$500 million arms sale to Taiwan, but declined to specify the items.
