Taipei: Defense Minister Wellington Koo expressed Taiwan's "cautiously optimistic" stance regarding future arms sales from the United States, despite a report indicating potential indefinite delays. This statement was made during a legislative session following a recent meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

According to Focus Taiwan, The New York Times reported that Trump's view of arms sales to Taiwan as a "very good negotiation chip" has created concerns within his administration about America's security commitments to Taiwan. The report suggested that Washington might "indefinitely withhold" an arms sales package valued at approximately US$14 billion. However, Koo noted that U.S. officials have reaffirmed that Washington's Taiwan policy remains unchanged after the Trump-Xi summit.

Koo outlined two key aspects of the U.S. policy: first, the historical use of arms sales to support peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait under the Taiwan Relations Act, with continued military and security cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan. Second, he emphasized that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait aligns with core U.S. interests, with arms sales acting as a crucial deterrent.

Koo reiterated Taiwan's position as a maintainer of the cross-strait status quo and accused China of undermining regional peace and stability. He affirmed that maintaining arms sales to Taiwan serves U.S. interests, given Washington's repeated assurances of unchanged policy. Taiwan plans to continue communication with U.S. counterparts while remaining "cautiously optimistic."

When questioned about potential legislation regarding drones, Koo indicated that the government is considering options to fund items excluded from a recent supplementary defense budget. Possible strategies include a special bill, supplementary budget requests, or integration into next year's general budget. The Ministry of National Defense is reviewing all options without ruling out any.

Premier Cho Jung-tai informed the Legislature about five U.S. systems for which Taiwan has received letters of offer and acceptance. The Executive Yuan is set to present the budget requests to the Legislature ahead of a plenary session to discuss the spending plans.