Comments by President Donald Trump suggesting that American arms sales to Taiwan could be used as leverage in negotiations with China are fueling concern in Taiwan over Washington’s long-term commitment to the island’s security.
Trump made the remarks during a Fox News interview with Bret Baier that aired Friday following his high-profile visit to China.
Taiwan governs itself democratically, though China claims the island as part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to take it by force if necessary. While the United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent country, it remains Taipei’s main military supporter and weapons supplier.
During the interview, Trump suggested future arms sales to Taiwan could depend on broader negotiations with Beijing.
Asked whether he would approve a stalled $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, Trump responded: “I’m holding that in abeyance and it depends on China.”
“It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons.”
Under American law, the United States is required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and Washington has traditionally viewed threats against the island as a matter of major concern.
William Yang, a Northeast Asia analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned that Trump’s comments appeared to touch on one of Taiwan’s greatest fears — the possibility that decisions about the island’s future could be negotiated without Taiwan itself being involved.
Although Trump did not specify what concessions he might seek from China in exchange for delaying arms sales, he has recently pushed Beijing to increase purchases of American products and to assist efforts aimed at pressuring Iran.
The Trump administration and Congress previously approved a separate $11 billion arms package for Taiwan in December, prompting an angry response from Beijing, which launched military drills around the island afterward.
China has repeatedly described Taiwan as the most sensitive issue in US-China relations.
During his recent summit with Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to travel to Beijing next week following the Trump-Xi summit.
Taiwan’s presidential office attempted Saturday to calm fears by emphasizing that official US policy toward Taiwan has not formally changed.
“The Republic of China is a sovereign, independent, democratic country; this is self-evident, and Beijing’s claims are therefore without merit,” Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said, using Taiwan’s official name.
Kuo also thanked Trump for his support and stressed that American weapons sales to Taiwan are mandated by US law.
Another source of anxiety in Taiwan came from Trump’s renewed calls for the island’s massive semiconductor industry to move more production to the United States.
“I’d like to see everybody making chips over in Taiwan come into America,” Trump told Fox News, calling it “the greatest thing you can do.”
Taiwan dominates the global advanced semiconductor market, producing more than 90% of the world’s most sophisticated microchips used in artificial intelligence systems, smartphones, and military technology.
Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has already committed $165 billion toward a major manufacturing complex in Arizona, while Taiwan earlier this year pledged an additional $250 billion in investment in the American semiconductor industry as part of a broader trade arrangement with Washington.
Trump also repeated past accusations that Taiwan had “stole” the semiconductor business from the United States decades ago.
Although Trump stopped short during his summit with Xi of changing longstanding US policy language regarding Taiwan, some analysts said his rhetoric appeared increasingly aligned with Beijing’s framing of the issue.
China has frequently labeled Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a dangerous separatist and accused him of pushing the island toward war.
Trump appeared to echo some of those concerns during the Fox interview.
“But they have somebody there now that wants to go independent,” Trump said, apparently referring to Lai.
“They’re going independent because they want to get into a war and they figure they have the United States behind them.”
Trump added that he has no desire to involve the United States in a distant military conflict.
Observers also noted that Lai has not yet traveled through the United States during his presidency, unlike previous Taiwanese leaders, leading some analysts to speculate that the Trump administration may be scaling back visible demonstrations of support for Taiwan.
Wen-Ti Sung of the Atlantic Council suggested Trump’s remarks may partly reflect his broader negotiating style.
“What matters more is the substance, which Taiwan is holding its collective breath for,” Sung said.