WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Taiwan needs to purchase American weapons to ensure its self-defense in the face of a growing threat from Beijing, the island’s top diplomat in the U.S. said, adding that he has seen no change in Washington’s policy toward the self-governing island that China claims as its own.
A $14 billion arms sale package to Taiwan is still in limbo after President Donald Trump returned and said he had discussed the proposal 鈥渋n great detail鈥� with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, heightening anxieties in Taiwan and raising concerns among lawmakers on the Capitol Hill.
鈥淲e need those arms for defensive purposes,鈥� Alexander Yui Tah-ray, who heads the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday in Washington. 鈥淲e’re trying to increase our defense expenditure. We try to increase our ability to defend ourselves better and survive times of crisis.鈥�
The Trump administration has not moved forward with the $14 billion weapons sale proposal after approved by senior lawmakers earlier this year. Trump has described the sale as with China.
Washington is obligated by domestic law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter aggression from China, which claims sovereignty over the island and vows to seize it, by force if necessary, to achieve what it considers to be unification. It has always opposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which has never been under China’s communist rule.
Taiwanese diplomat says the island won’t wait for 鈥榯he U.S. cavalry鈥�
Yui said Taiwan is aware that it must defend its territory.
鈥淭his is our responsibility, so we will not wait and depend for the U.S. cavalry to come and save us,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e willing to acquire, to buy U.S. equipment and arms to make ourselves stronger.鈥�
Yui said the weapons sales need to be 鈥渃ommensurate鈥� to the threat level, which is 鈥渁ctually pretty high鈥� from China.
鈥淔irst and foremost, we鈥檙e not the aggressors. It is the People’s Republic of China who is sending all the planes and ships,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’re the ones huffing and puffing. They are the ones who鈥檚 trying to annihilate our freedom and democracy in Taiwan.鈥�
China sends warships and military aircraft near Taiwan almost daily and has conducted major military exercises around the island in recent years.
Beijing sees the island as a core interest and has criticized those supporting Taiwanese independence for causing instability in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Taiwan diplomat sees no change in the US position toward the island
Yui stressed that there had been no changes to the U.S. position on Taiwan and that the Taiwanese government will respect the Trump administration’s 鈥渢empo鈥� in making announcements.
The arms sale has broad support in Congress, with lawmakers raising concerns to Secretary of State Marco Rubio at . Rubio affirmed that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed and that Washington does not 鈥渃onsult with the Chinese on these arms deals.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e aware of their position. They talk about it all the time,鈥� Rubio said of Beijing. 鈥淭hey are not negotiated, and they are not consulted.鈥�
Rubio said the proposal was not held up but under review and that the administration had other factors to weigh.
鈥淚t includes the availability of the stocks in the short term,鈥� Rubio said of U.S. weapons stockpiles, which have been . 鈥淲e have to balance that with our own procurement process.鈥�
The administration did approve a separate to Taiwan in December that included high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and howitzers.
Yui deals with the second Trump presidency
Yui arrived in Washington in late 2023 during Joe Biden’s presidency. Biden had said several times that he if Beijing attacked.
Now, Yui is navigating the caprices of the second Trump administration, which has struck a more conciliatory tone with Beijing following an intense trade war marked by tit-for-tat tariffs.
As much as Trump has raised eyebrows by not to agree to prior consultation with Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan, he also said he Lai Ching-te, breaking a decades-long practice that no sitting U.S. president has directly spoken with the leader of the island.
In its published in January, the Pentagon said it seeks to deter China through strength, not confrontation. It says the U.S. 鈥渨ill build, posture, and sustain a strong denial defense鈥� along a strategic line of islands, including Taiwan, to keep China out of the wider Pacific Ocean.
Yui ascribed what appears to be mixed messages to Trump’s outside-of-the-box style but expressed confidence in Taiwan-U.S. relations.
鈥淚t’s important to look at the actions, what is happening, not just the rhetoric,鈥� Yui said. 鈥淭he big stick is still there.鈥�
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