The acting US Navy secretary said on Thursday that arms sales to Taiwan had been put on pause to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations.
At a congressional hearing, acting secretary Hung Cao addressed the stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, stating, “right now we are doing a pause to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury, which we have plenty of."
"But we're just making sure we have everything; then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary,” he added.
The US State Department and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cao’s remarks.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said on Friday, “there was no information indicating that the US intends to make any adjustments to this arms sale.”
US President Donald Trump has not committed to following through with the sale, raising concerns over his commitment to support for Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
Ahead of his recent state visit to China, Trump said that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the arms sales, a departure from Washington’s previous insistence that it will not consult Beijing on the matter.
Afterward, he said again that he had made no commitments to Xi about Taiwan and would be making a determination on the arms sales over the next fairly short period of time.
The United States recognises only Beijing but under US law is required to provide weapons to the self-ruled democracy for its defence.
China has sworn to take the island and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure in recent times.
