"US Considers Delaying Taiwan Arms Sale Decision Until Year-End"

SCMP: "China Calls for Restraint Before Xi's U.S. Visit"


Plan to Announce Arms Sale After APEC and G20 Summits Discussed

The United States is reportedly considering delaying both the decision and announcement of a large-scale arms sale to Taiwan until the end of the year, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the U.S.

On September 19, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing multiple sources, reported that the Donald Trump Administration is reviewing plans to postpone the announcement of new arms sales to Taiwan until after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit scheduled for November in Shenzhen, China, as well as the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit set to take place in Florida, U.S., in December.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are seen leaving the meeting room and conversing after concluding the U.S.-China summit on the 30th at Naraemaru Protocol Office, Gimhae Air Base in Busan.

One source said that President Donald Trump is considering measures to delay the approval of arms sales to Taiwan. It is expected that the final decision will represent a compromise among President Trump, hardliners on China within the U.S., and the position of the Taiwanese side.

President Trump had at one point even considered deferring the arms sales decision until either late 2028 or January 2029, but reportedly faced strong resistance from hardline China skeptics.

At present, it is understood that the plan to delay the decision and official announcement of large-scale arms sales until after the APEC and G20 summits is being reviewed as the most likely course of action.

Another source revealed that China has requested the United States not to announce any new arms sales plans for Taiwan ahead of President Xi’s visit to the U.S.

SCMP noted that this request is similar to the message Beijing delivered to Washington prior to President Trump's visit to China this past May.

The Trump Administration reportedly withheld approval for an arms sale to Taiwan—then valued at around 14 billion dollars and including Patriot (PAC-3) interceptor missiles—at that time.

China has defined the Taiwan issue as an insurmountable "red line" in U.S.-China relations and has consistently opposed arms sales to Taiwan.

However, it is also recognized that even China understands the United States cannot indefinitely postpone new arms sales decisions related to Taiwan.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that the U.S. government may opt to approve and announce a relatively smaller-scale arms sale to Taiwan in the period between the U.S.-China summit and the APEC summit.

However, the sources also indicated that the likelihood of a multi-billion-dollar large-scale arms deal being approved is not high.

President Xi is scheduled to hold a summit with President Trump in Washington on the 24th (local time). The two leaders are expected to discuss topics such as trade, rare earth elements, artificial intelligence (AI) safety, and the Taiwan issue.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.