US President Donald Trump has said he will speak to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about a possible arms sale, in what would be a sharp departure from diplomatic tradition.
US and Taiwanese leaders have not spoken directly since 1979, when Washington severed formal ties with Taiwan to recognise the Chinese government in Beijing. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force. The US has long supported the self-ruled island and is bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has balanced this with maintaining diplomatic relations with China.
Asked on Wednesday if he planned to speak to Lai ahead of making a decision on US arms sales, Trump said: "I'll speak to him. I speak to everybody. We'll work on that, the Taiwan problem." He also hailed his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping as "amazing", following a two-day summit in Beijing last week.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said President Lai would be "happy to discuss these matters with President Trump" and that Lai is committed to maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said the government was seeking confirmation from the US about whether Trump wanted to speak to Lai, and that Taiwan would "of course very much welcome it."
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said China "firmly opposes official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan" and US arms sales to Taiwan, urging Washington to "stop sending wrong signals to the separatist forces in Taiwan."
The potential conversation would be the first direct contact between a US president and a Taiwanese leader in over 40 years. In 2016, then president-elect Trump took a phone call from Taiwan's then leader Tsai Ing-wen, angering Beijing.
The reported $14 billion arms package, including anti-drone equipment and air-defence missile systems, has not yet been approved. Trump said he has yet to decide whether the sale will go ahead. He has also suggested that arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip with China.
China's Xi Jinping warned Trump that the wrong approach to resolving the Taiwan issue could provoke a direct confrontation between Beijing and Washington, calling it the most important issue in China-US relations. He said the pursuit of "island independence" and peace in the region are mutually exclusive.
The US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established relations with China. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed that year, states that the US can "provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character," which is why Washington continues to sell weapons to Taiwan. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry estimating that total US military supplies to the island have exceeded $70 billion over the years.
Trump's remarks come amid concerns among US allies in Asia about the credibility of American commitments. Analysts suggest that by openly discussing Taiwan arms sales with Xi, Trump may be signalling a more transactional approach to one of the most sensitive pillars of US policy in the region.