President Donald Trump refused to approve military aid to Taiwan worth more than $400 million this summer as he seeks to negotiate a trade agreement and a potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, writes the Washington Post, citing sources. The White House stated that this is not a final decision.
Direct delivery of American weapons is possible under the «Presidential Drawdown Authority» (PDA) program. The Joe Biden administration approved three such packages for Taiwan, along with another round of long-term military aid totaling more than $2 billion. In this way, Washington sought to prevent an attack by China, which considers the island its territory.
According to representatives of the US military and intelligence services, Xi Jinping has instructed the military to be ready to capture Taiwan by 2027, while emphasizing that this date is not a deadline for invasion. «Now is not the time for the US to slow down», — said Dan Blumenthal, a former Pentagon employee who now works at the American Enterprise Institute.
As the publication writes, the Trump administration believes that Taiwan, which has a large thriving economy, should buy its weapons, like European countries. Taiwan, which is effectively on the brink of military conflict, plans to agree to these terms and pay for a new batch of weapons by adopting an additional defense spending bill.
During Trump's first administration, the US approved the sale of weapons to Taiwan worth nearly $20 billion, most of which went to expensive platforms such as F-16 fighters and Abrams tanks. At the same time, Trump repeatedly stated that China would not invade Taiwan during his tenure.
Photo: AP