The Trump administration is considering postponing major arms sales to Taiwan until after critical diplomatic summits with China, according to multiple sources who spoke with the South China Morning Post. The potential delay comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to travel to Washington next week for a state visit.
The sources said there's a strong possibility President Donald Trump could extend the delay through year's end, pointing to a planned bilateral meeting between the two leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November and Xi's expected visit to Florida for the Group of 20 summit in December.
Internal White House Tensions
The decision has exposed sharp divisions within the administration. One source said Trump is considering various options to postpone the signing of Taiwan arms sales, but the final outcome would be a "compromise between him, the China hawks and Taiwan's lobbyists."
The internal debate has grown heated. "President Trump has considered delaying the [Taiwan] arms sales decision till end 2028 or January 2029, that is, towards the end of his current term," the source said. "However, he faced very loud opposition from hawks after floating the idea."
That timeline would push any announcement to the final months of Trump's presidency, effectively shelving commitments to Taiwan for more than two years. It's a proposal that's drawn fierce resistance from defense hawks and Taiwan supporters within Republican circles who view arms sales as essential to deterring Chinese aggression.
Strategic Calculations
The timing reflects Trump's broader approach to managing the U.S.-China relationship through high-stakes personal diplomacy. The Apec summit in Shenzhen in November marks the first time the forum will be held in mainland China since 2014. The G20 summit in Florida in December would represent Xi's second visit to U.S. soil this year.
Both summits offer Trump opportunities to negotiate directly with Xi on trade, technology restrictions, and regional security issues. Arms sales to Taiwan have historically been among Beijing's most sensitive red lines, routinely triggering diplomatic protests and threats of retaliation.
The sources didn't specify which weapons systems are under consideration or their total value. Previous major packages have included F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks, and advanced missile defense systems.
Taiwan's government has consistently pressed Washington to expedite arms deliveries, citing growing military pressure from Beijing. The island has faced an increasing number of Chinese military exercises in surrounding waters and airspace.
Why This Matters:
The potential delay in Taiwan arms sales exposes the fundamental tension between diplomatic engagement with China and America's security commitments in the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan's ability to defend itself depends heavily on U.S. weapons transfers, which have faced growing backlogs in recent years. Any postponement until late 2028 or early 2029 would represent an unprecedented gap in security assistance to a key democratic partner facing mounting military threats. The internal White House debate also reveals how Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy clashes with longstanding Republican defense priorities. China hawks see arms sales not just as weapons transfers but as strategic signals of American resolve. Delaying them to smooth summit diplomacy could embolden Beijing while undermining deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. The outcome will test whether personal diplomacy can deliver substantive concessions from China worth the cost of weakening a critical security partnership.