00:00U.S. officials say their country's Taiwan policy remains unchanged and a top priority,
00:05addressing fears that U.S. President Donald Trump could undermine longstanding commitments
00:10in his upcoming visit to Beijing.
00:12Their statement comes after a Reuters report cast doubt on a second major U.S. arms deal
00:17with Taiwan.
00:18It said the deal, of 14 billion U.S. dollars, could have to wait until after Trump's meeting
00:23with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
00:25This led to U.S. lawmakers to question the status of the six assurances.
00:28A long-standing U.S. pledge to provide Taiwan with weapons without consulting China.
00:34I'm not aware of any move to change the six assurances.
00:37We, as part of the three communications and six assurances, we have stated that we will
00:42provide Taiwan what they need for their own self-defense in that regard.
00:48Just in the last 90 days, in December, we notified 11.1 billion in arms sales for Taiwan.
00:54So we continue to pace.
00:56China claims Taiwan is its territory, making arms sales to Taipei a touchy subject in U.S.-China
01:02relations.
01:03The six assurances have guided ties between the U.S. and Taiwan since 1982.
01:08They state that Washington will not set an end date for arms sales, will not pressure
01:12Taipei to negotiate with Beijing, and will not consult China on weapons sales to Taiwan.
01:16That's why in February, when Trump said he was talking to Xi about arms sales, it raised
01:21eyebrows in Taiwan and the U.S.
01:23With Taiwan already awaiting tens of billions worth of arms from the U.S., Trump's statements
01:29have some concern.
01:30Likewise, the U.S. war in the Middle East has some worry it could affect Washington's ability
01:35to fulfill its defensive commitments.
01:37All this leading U.S. lawmakers to ask if Taiwan remained a priority.
01:41In 2023, I signed out guidance to all the implementing agencies for military sales to prioritize Taiwan
01:46above all of the requirements.
01:48That remains standing guidance.
01:50So in the matter of whether there was a competition between the provision of Harpoon to Saudi Arabia
01:54or to Taiwan, Taiwan would take priority.
01:56That is also a capability they are working to provide to them.
02:00Taipei just finished paperwork for some weapons in an 11 billion U.S. dollar arms package and
02:05another, worth 14 billion dollars, is in the pipeline.
02:08It says talks are proceeding smoothly and they have no information regarding delays.
02:12All this comes while lawmakers here in Taiwan continue to debate in the legislature over increasing
02:17defense spending.
02:18And while U.S. lawmakers reaffirmed their country's support for Taiwan, people here will be paying
02:24close attention as to whether the U.S. honors its commitments.
02:27Ryan Wu and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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