Taiwan ‘cautiously optimistic’ about US arms sales, defence minister says

TAIPEI - Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo on May 19 said he was “cautiously optimistic” about arms sales from the US, after US President Donald Trump said he was still considering whether to go ahead with new sales to the Chinese-claimed island.

Mr Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, where Taiwan was a point of focus, has caused concern in Taipei about the US commitment to helping the island defend itself, especially as China ramps up its military activities.

Taiwan’s role as the world’s main producer of advanced semiconductors means any conflict would cause major disruptions to the global economy.

The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with weapons and in December 2025, the Trump administration approved an US$11 billion (S$14.1 billion) arms package, the largest ever.

A second package worth some US$14 billion has yet to be formally approved.

Speaking to reporters in parliament, Mr Koo said the US has repeatedly said its policy towards Taiwan has not changed.

“For a long time, the United States has maintained peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait region through arms sales channels. This was established under the Taiwan Relations Act,” he added, referring to the 1979 law that mandates arms sales.

Weapons sales are an important “counterbalancing force” for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Mr Koo said.

“It is clear that the side repeatedly provoking, creating incidents and undermining the peaceful and stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait is China, not our country,” he added.

“Therefore, under these circumstances, we believe that maintaining this arms sales channel is in line with US interests,” Mr Koo said.

Taiwan is continuing to talk to the US about arms sales and “at present, we remain cautiously optimistic”, he added.

Mr Trump, speaking after his meeting with Mr Xi, also said US arms sales were “a very good negotiating chip for us”, causing further alarm in Taiwan.

China’s military operates daily around Taiwan and occasionally stages large-scale war games, most recently in December 2025.

China’s navy earlier on May 19 said it sent a carrier task force into the Western Pacific for training, an announcement that came a day before the two-year anniversary of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration.

While Mr Lai has enthusiastically backed calls from Mr Trump for US allies and partners to spend more on defence, Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament earlier in May approved only two-thirds of a US$40 billion special budget that he had requested.

The government is now trying to get the rest of the money that was not approved by lawmakers.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future. REUTERS