WASHINGTON — Taiwan must continue buying U.S. weapons to maintain its ability to defend itself against mounting pressure from Beijing, the island’s top representative in Washington said, while adding that he has seen no shift in longstanding American policy toward the self-governing democracy claimed by China.
A proposed $14 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan remains stalled after President Donald Trump returned from Beijing in May and said he had discussed the matter “in great detail” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The comments fueled unease in Taiwan and prompted concern among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“We need those arms for defensive purposes,” Alexander Yui Tah-ray, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday in Washington. “We’re trying to increase our defense expenditure. We try to increase our ability to defend ourselves better and survive times of crisis.”
The Trump administration has yet to advance the $14 billion weapons proposal, despite its approval by senior lawmakers earlier this year. Trump has previously called the potential sale a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China.
Under U.S. law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with enough military equipment to help deter aggression from China. Beijing claims the island as its territory and has vowed to bring it under its control by force if necessary in pursuit of unification. China has consistently opposed American arms sales to Taiwan, which has never been governed by the country’s Communist leadership.
The Taiwanese diplomat said the island cannot afford to wait for “the U.S. cavalry” to come to its rescue.
Yui said Taiwan is aware that it must defend its territory.
“This is our responsibility, so we will not wait and depend for the U.S. cavalry to come and save us,” he said. “That’s why we’re willing to acquire, to buy U.S. equipment and arms to make ourselves stronger.”
Yui said the weapons sales need to be “commensurate” to the threat level, which is “actually pretty high” from China.
“First and foremost, we’re not the aggressors. It is the People’s Republic of China who is sending all the planes and ships,” he said. “They’re the ones huffing and puffing. They are the ones who’s trying to annihilate our freedom and democracy in Taiwan.”
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 “tempo” in making announcements.
The arms sale has broad support in Congress, with lawmakers raising concerns to Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a hearing this month. Rubio affirmed that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed and that Washington does not “consult with the Chinese on these arms deals.”
“We’re aware of their position. They talk about it all the time,” Rubio said of Beijing. “They are not negotiated, and they are not consulted.”
Rubio said the proposal was not held up but under review and that the administration had other factors to weigh.
“It includes the availability of the stocks in the short term,” Rubio said of U.S. weapons stockpiles, which have been drawn down during the Iran war. “We have to balance that with our own procurement process.”
The administration did approve a separate $11 billion arms sale package 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 would send troops to the island 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 ignoring a Reagan-era promise not to agree to prior consultation with Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan, he also said he could call Taiwan President 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 national defense strategy published in January, the Pentagon said it seeks to deter China through strength, not confrontation. It says the U.S. “will build, posture, and sustain a strong denial defense” 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.
“It’s important to look at the actions, what is happening, not just the rhetoric,” Yui said. “The big stick is still there.”
