00:01Officials here in Taipei say communication with the U.S. remains normal, and they will continue
00:05deepening bilateral cooperation. That's despite concerns following U.S. President Donald Trump's
00:10meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month.
00:34In a report delivered to lawmakers, the foreign ministry said stable U.S.-China ties and strong
00:40Taiwan-U.S. relations are not mutually contradictory, and that U.S.-China interactions do not affect
00:45the continued deepening of cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. But some concerns still
00:50remain. Top of the list is Trump's post-summit comment that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could
00:55be used as a negotiating chip in U.S.-China talks. Lawmakers pressed national security
01:00officials on whether they knew Trump would use that language, and whether an expected
01:04$14 billion U.S. weapons package could now face delays.
01:32Taiwan's officials say, despite media reports, they have not received notification from the
01:36U.S. of any delays in arms sales. But last Thursday, Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hong Tao said the
01:43administration was pausing some foreign military sales to stock up on munitions for the conflict
01:47in Iran. A U.S. expert visiting Taipei said it was unlikely that the conflict, dubbed Operation
01:53Epic Fury, would affect long-term arms packages that had already been negotiated.
01:57There's no way in which FMS that has been decided or notified could be associated with
02:04operational inventories or anything else that have taken place with respect to Operation
02:09Epic Fury. So I think these are separate issues and should be treated that way.
02:15$14 billion U.S. dollars for the pending sale had been included in a recent special defense
02:19funding bill passed earlier this month. U.S. lawmakers have also expressed their support
02:23for continued arms sales to Taipei. Since the summit, Trump has twice said that
02:28he would be willing to speak with Taiwan's President Lai Tingde to discuss arms sales,
02:31which would be unprecedented for U.S.-Taiwan ties. Taiwan's foreign minister said that a phone call
02:36between the two leaders would be viewed very positively, but so far no consultations have
02:41taken place to set up the call. Some experts agreed, saying Trump and other U.S. leaders need to
02:46engage with their Taiwanese counterparts to gain a better understanding of the country.
02:50All eyes are now on whether arms sales and any other parts of U.S.-Taiwan ties change in the
02:54aftermath of the Trump-Xi summit. Although officials here maintain confidence in their relationship,
02:59what happens next may come down to Washington. Leon Lian, Luffy Lee, and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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