Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whose platform advocates for Taiwan's independence, urged the United States to quickly process a 14-billion-dollar weapons sale package to Taiwan currently under review.

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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te calls for the sale of U.S. weapons to Taiwan during the '2026 President-Foreign Media Tea Time' held in Taipei on the 18th. / Taiwan Presidential Office

According to Beijing sources well-versed in cross-strait relations on the 19th, President Lai expressed this position during the '2026 President-Foreign Media Tea Time' held the previous day ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Taiwanese holiday.

When asked about the progress of the weapons sale package, President Lai first replied, "It is currently underway," adding, "The U.S. security commitment to Taiwan remains unchanged. Both sides agree on the goals of strengthening security and accelerating Taiwan's self-defense capabilities." He went on to voice his expectations for subsequent steps, saying, "I hope the weapons sale package will quickly pass after a detailed review by the U.S. government."

He also emphasized that improving Taiwan's self-defense capabilities is an essential measure to protect its sovereignty. This can be interpreted as an explanation that both procuring foreign military weapons and promoting Taiwan's self-reliant national defense are important, and that the direction of strengthening Taiwan's defensive capabilities can neither be reversed nor delayed.

President Lai then reiterated that Taiwan will maintain close communication with the U.S. government to achieve a prompt conclusion to the weapons sale package. In addition, he emphasized that purchasing U.S. military weapons goes beyond mere arms acquisition. This implies that the international community should recognize Taiwan's commitment to achieving regional peace and stability by safeguarding its own security, going beyond collective defense and burden-sharing to secure a deterrent.

Regarding concerns from foreign media that U.S. President Donald Trump might not ratify the weapons sale package, he drew a line, saying, "Based on what we have gathered so far, there has been no change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan." At the same time, he recalled the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during a federal Senate hearing on the 2nd that the 14-billion-dollar weapons sale package has not been halted but is in the review stage.

Prior to this, in an interview with Fox News that aired on the 15 of last month following the U.S.-China summit, President Trump caused controversy when asked whether he would approve additional weapons sales to Taiwan, stating, "I haven't approved it yet," adding, "I might approve it. I might not approve it." This attitude left Taiwan feeling deeply anxious. Seen in this light, it is only natural that President Lai directly and strongly urged the U.S. to execute the weapons sale.

                                                                                                            Hong Soon-do