Rubio: US Policy on Taiwan Unchanged, $14 Billion Arms Sale Under Review

(Central News Agency, Washington, D.C., 2nd) Following the Trump-Xi summit, the direction of US policy towards Taiwan has drawn significant attention. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated at a congressional hearing today that Washington's policy towards Taiwan has not changed. He said China clearly hoped to see the US adjust its wording, but the US has not made any changes. He also stated that the $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan is still under review.

US President Donald Trump visited China in mid-May and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Rubio was one of the accompanying officials. After the summit, Trump said he discussed arms sales to Taiwan with Xi and stated he would make a decision on a new batch of arms sales soon, calling the sales a good bargaining chip.

Rubio attended a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the State Department budget today. When asked about the Taiwan issue, he said he had mentioned both during and after his visit to China that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed. He believes China clearly hoped to see the US adjust its wording, but the US has not made changes in this regard.

Regarding the $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, Rubio said it is currently "under review."

He also pointed out that the Trump 2.0 administration approved a $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan last December, which he described as "the largest single arms sale in history," exceeding the total of the Biden administration's four-year term.

He said the scale of this arms sale was so large and conspicuous that it made China "very provocative," leading them to take some harassing actions.

Rubio emphasized that the US wants to see the status quo maintained, stating "that is our policy," and described it as a delicate relationship that needs balance.

"But our policy towards Taiwan has not changed, and it did not change during this trip," he said.

Before the Trump-Xi summit, there were expectations that Xi might suggest Trump change his wording regarding Taiwan from the US position of "not supporting" Taiwan independence to "opposing" it.