Taiwan-U.S. ties are ‘rock solid’, says President says after Trump-Xi call

admin — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 07:01:00 +0000

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te speaks during a press conference
| Photo Credit: AP

Taiwan’s ties with the United States are “rock solid,” the island’s president said on Thursday (February 5, 2026), hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone about topics that included the self-ruled island’s future.

“The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, and all cooperation projects will continue uninterrupted,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters during a visit to textile merchants in western Taiwan.

The comments came after Mr. Xi, in his first call with Mr. Trump since November, warned the U.S. President to be “prudent” about supplying arms to the self-ruled island, according to a readout of their call provided by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. Beijing prohibits all countries it has diplomatic relations with — including the U.S. — from having formal ties with Taipei.

Still, while the U.S. doesn’t officially recognize Taiwan as a country, it is the island’s strongest informal backer and arms supplier.

In December, the U.S. State Department announced its largest-ever arms sales package to Taiwan, valued at more than $11.1 billion and including missiles, artillery systems and drones. The package is yet to be approved by Congress.

China reacted angrily to the proposed arms sales, conducting two days of military drills around the island in late December, for which it dispatched air, navy and missile units.

The arms sales are also facing pushback from Taiwan’s opposition KMT party and some of its population, along with a proposed increase of defence spending to 3.3% of Taiwan’s gross domestic product.

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has blocked Mr. Lai’s budget plan, including a $40 billion special defence budget, proposing instead a much smaller defence spending plan.

Mr. Trump said the call with Mr. Xi was “excellent” and “thorough” in a post late on Wednesday (February 4) on Truth Social.

He added that he is looking forward to a trip to China in April that will be the first of his current term in office.

Mr. Trump also said China is considering buying 20 million tons of U.S. soybeans in the current season, up from 12 million tons in the previous season.

Published – February 05, 2026 12:14 pm IST

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Biden approves $571 million in defence support for Taiwan

admin — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 06:54:12 +0000

This handout photo taken and released on December 16, 2024 by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence shows a U.S.-made M1A2 Abrams battle tank rolling down from a trailer at an army armour training centre in Hsinchu County, Hsinchu.
| Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday (December 20, 2024) agreed to provide $571.3 million in defence support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the State Department approved the potential sale to the island of $265 million worth of military equipment.

The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei, to the constant anger of Beijing.

Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China’s claims of sovereignty.

China has stepped up military pressure against Taiwan, including daily military activities near the island and two rounds of war games this year.

Taiwan went on alert last week in response to what it said was China’s largest massing of naval forces in three decades around Taiwan and in the East and South China Seas.

Mr. Biden had delegated to the Secretary of State the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to $571.3 million in defence articles and services of the Department of Defence, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement without providing details.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry thanked the United States for its “firm security guarantee”, saying in a statement the two sides would continue to work closely on security issues to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait.

The Pentagon said the State Department had approved the potential sale to Taiwan of about $265 million worth of command, control, communications, and computer modernisation equipment.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the equipment sale would help upgrade its command-and-control systems.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry also said on Saturday (December 21, 2024) that the U.S. government had approved $30 million of parts for 76 mm autocannon, which it said would boost the island’s capacity to counter China’s “grey-zone” warfare.

Published – December 21, 2024 12:24 pm IST

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Taiwan-U.S. ties are ‘rock solid’, says President says after Trump-Xi call

Biden approves $571 million in defence support for Taiwan