TAIWAN PERSPECTIVE

Taipei, May 17, 2026. Taiwan's presidency took care to respond point-by-point to Donald Trump's statements after his visit to Beijing, where the US president warned he did not want to see Taiwan declare independence. Spokeswoman Karen Kuo recalled that "the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent nation," reaffirming that Beijing "has no right to claim sovereignty" over the island. Taipei's official position: maintain the status quo across the strait and contribute to regional peace, a line described as "shared by 23 million Taiwanese committed to freedom and democracy."

Taiwan's reading of the Trump-Xi summit aims to be deliberately reassuring. A national security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that messages from the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump himself form a coherent whole: no policy change, priority placed on maintaining the status quo, arms sales negotiated exclusively with Taipei. Rubio had provided the most direct confirmation, and the White House amplified his statements on social media. Trump, for his part, told Fox News that "nothing has changed." The Taiwan official concluded: "Trump did not allow Xi to negotiate or haggle over arms sales to Taiwan."

This cautious reading attempts to recontextualize Trump's remarks on independence. The Taiwan official argues that when Trump said he did not want "someone to go seek independence because the United States is behind him" and did not want to "travel 9,500 miles to wage a war," he was primarily expressing his desire to avoid being drawn into a conflict, not his intent to redefine Taiwan's political status in Beijing's favor.

The arms question remains the central friction point. Congress had approved in January 2026 a $14 billion arms sales package, but Trump has not yet sent the formal notification required. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers reacted sharply: Representative Michael McCaul called for "arming Taiwan so it can defend itself," while ten senators said they were "deeply troubled" by Trump's refusal to defend US support for Taiwan during the summit. Representative Gregory Meeks noted that Xi "has leverage over the president, but not over Congress." In December, the Trump administration had already approved a record $11 billion in arms sales.

Taiwan's navy illustrates concretely the stakes of these deliveries: according to CSBC Corp president Chen Cheng-hung, Taiwan has only four operational submarines, two dating from 1945 and 1946, compared to twenty-two for Japan. A US assessment reportedly suggests at least twelve would be needed to achieve modern capabilities. Taipei recently passed a special defense budget, praised by Senator John Curtis as "a crucial investment in deterrence."