TACO

US suspends Taiwan’s $14bn weapons deal as Trump buckles under Beijing pressure

When presidents Trump and Xi met in Beijing, the Chinese premier made it clear he was prepared to go to war over Taiwan. It seems that the White House took those threats to heart and has since backed off its support for Taipei, postponing a key weapons deal Beijing was unhappy with. / White HouseFacebook

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By Ben Aris in Berlin May 26, 2026

The Trump administration has paused US arms sales to Taiwan after China’s president Xi Jinping threatened to go to war over the issue at a meeting in Beijing a week ago.

According to a senior US military official the controversial deal was suspended by US president Donald Trump, raising concerns in Taipei and among Washington’s allies that the White House is backing off its military commitment to protecting the island state from a possible Chinese invasion and forced reunification with the rest of the country – a policy never specifically enunciated, but the “strategic ambiguity” of the US position has been key to foreign policy for years. Trump appears to have moved towards accommodation with Beijing as tensions over China’s claim to the island intensify.

The suspension kills the mooted $14bn weapons package that had included coastal defence cruise missiles, air defence systems, naval surveillance equipment and advanced drones intended to strengthen Taiwan’s ability to resist a potential Chinese blockade or invasion, according to people familiar with the discussions the Washington Post reports. Several components of the package had been expected to move forward this year following congressional consultations begun under the previous administration.

The halt has fuelled fears among Taiwanese officials and lawmakers that President Donald Trump’s support for the democratically governed island was weakening amid broader efforts to stabilise relations with Beijing after months of escalating geopolitical tensions and a simmering trade war.

The issue reportedly featured prominently during Trump’s meeting with Xi in Beijing last week. According to officials briefed on the discussions, Xi told Trump that Taiwan remained a “red line” for Beijing and warned that China would not tolerate foreign interference in what it considers an internal matter.

Xi also reportedly invoked the “Thucydides Trap”, a theory in international relations suggesting that conflict becomes more likely when an established power attempts to contain a rising one – an overt threat of war, without using that word. Chinese officials have increasingly used the concept in recent years when warning Washington against military confrontation in the Indo-Pacific.

On returning home, Trump has dramatically shifted his rhetoric on Taiwan and suggested that the US commitment to supporting Taiwan militarily should China attack the island state is greatly reduced.

“I’m not looking to have somebody to go independent and, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on May 16. “I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”

The Taiwan problem comes amid a debate inside the Pentagon about the sustainability of US overseas security guarantees. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said last year that Washington would scale back many international military obligations to focus resources on strategic competition with China, which he described as America’s principal long-term rival.

In speeches and congressional testimony, Hegseth had argued that the US military could no longer act as “the security guarantor of first resort for every region simultaneously”.

The new National Security Strategy released in December spelled out in bitter detail how Europe is now largely on its own and expected to provide its own security, although Nato guarantees will remain in effect.  The document described Russia increasingly as “Europe’s problem”. The NSS also called on the Middle East to assume greater responsibility for their own defence. However, Hegseth maintained that China represented the central strategic challenge facing the US, but officials close to the administration say the Pentagon has become more cautious about the risks of direct confrontation following the Middle East conflict.

Taiwan’s international position has meanwhile become increasingly isolated under sustained Chinese diplomatic pressure. Only 12 states now formally recognise Taipei, down from more than 60 in the early 1970s.

While many analysts believe Xi would still prefer eventual reunification through political pressure and economic integration, Beijing has repeatedly indicated it is willing to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence or if outside powers intervene militarily in the dispute.