U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Friday that no one knows when President Donald Trump will sign off on a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan that has been sitting on his desk, telling Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” that “Trump has a schedule of his own.”
Co-host Bill Hemmer pressed Perdue on the pending deal, which would send military hardware directly to Taipei to help it defend itself. Hemmer asked when it would be signed.
“Well, we don’t know. President Trump has a schedule of his own. And he has already sold 50% more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979. So, he’s already demonstrated that support,” Perdue said.
Perdue added that the administration’s broader goal remains steady: “Our position is, we want peace in the strait, we want a peaceful resolution. This is between the people of Taiwan and the people of China.”
Hemmer also asked whether recent meetings had shifted the U.S. position on Taiwan. Perdue said flatly they had not.
“Absolutely not. In Busan, it didn’t even come up. In May, President Xi brought it up. President Trump listened actively. And, in this meeting, it came up briefly. But let me be very clear, President Trump, since he was inaugurated, has not changed the position on the United States’ One China Policy. We fully support the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Communiqués, and the Six Assurances,” Perdue said.
He said the administration does not support Taiwanese independence but is equally opposed to coercion of the island. “President Trump, again, echoed that position of the United States federal government. We have not changed our position on Taiwan, we don’t support independence, but we really don’t support coercion, either,” Perdue said.
