May 23 (Reuters) – U.S. arms sales to Taiwan take years to process and are unrelated to the war with Iran, a source familiar with the matter said, after a senior U.S. official suggested there was a pause due to the need to have enough arms for the conflict.
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has been waiting for the U.S. to approve an arms sale that Reuters reported could be worth up to $14 billion.
U.S. President Donald Trump sowed uncertainty in Taipei by saying, after meeting China’s President Xi Jinping this month, that he was undecided on whether to approve the package.
On Thursday, acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that there was a pause on arms sales to Taiwan to make sure the U.S. had the munitions needed for the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran.
The source familiar with the matter noted that Trump has said he would decide on the Taiwan arms sales soon.
“These sales take years to process and are unrelated to Operation Epic Fury,” the source said, referring to the war the U.S. and Israel launched in February. “The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond.”
The U.S. is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and has said since Trump met Xi that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged.
A White House official told Reuters that as Trump has said, he will make a determination in a fairly short time regarding a new Taiwan arms package, and noted the $11 billion package already approved in December.
“In his first term, President Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history,” the official added.
Taiwan’s government said on Friday it had not received any information about U.S. arms sales delays.
Taiwan says it faces a stepped up threat from China, whose warships and warplanes operate around the island almost daily, and needs to boost its deterrence.
On Saturday, Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu wrote on X that China had deployed over 100 ships in recent days along the first island chain, referring to an area which stretches from Japan down through Taiwan and into the Philippines.
“In this part of the world, China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the status quo & threatening regional peace & stability,” he added, including a graphic on their location.
China’s defence ministry did not answer calls seeking comment.
China has repeatedly called for the U.S. to stop arms sales.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by William Mallard, Kim Coghill and Susan Fenton)
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