Hung Cao Frames Lai's Push for Taiwan Arms Purchases
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Wednesday that he would tell U.S. President Donald Trump, if given the chance, that Taiwan hopes to keep buying U.S. arms. The message from Lai Ching-te comes as Taiwan faces pressure from China and as Washington weighs a new arms package that Trump has described as “a very good negotiating chip.”
Lai Ching-te and Donald Trump
Lai said U.S. arms purchases are essential for peace and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are crucial for global security. Lai also said Taiwan’s increasing defense budget responds to threats and that purchases of U.S. arms are an essential means to safeguard the strait’s stability.
“only strength can bring peace,” Lai said in his speech Wednesday. He also said, “No country has the right to annex Taiwan” and “Democracy and freedom should also not be seen as provocation.”
Washington's arms sales to Taiwan
Trump approved a record-breaking $11-billion arms package to Taiwan in December 2025, and later said approval of a new $14 billion arms package depended on China. Trump also told reporters he needed to talk to the person who is running Taiwan, after calling the deal “a very good negotiating chip.”
The statement from Lai lands at the halfway point of his term, two years into office, as Taiwan tries to keep U.S. arms sales central to its security relationship with Washington.
Beijing's response to Lai
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China’s opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is clear and urged the U.S. to abide by the One China principle. Guo said attempts to seek independence by soliciting foreign support or through military means are ultimately nothing but wishful thinking.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said Lai’s remarks were filled with lies, deception, hostility and confrontation. Chen accused Lai of stubbornly insisting on Taiwan independence and called Lai a destroyer of cross-strait peace.
Lai said Taiwan was willing to engage in healthy and orderly exchanges with China under the principles of equality and dignity, while also rejecting tactics that package unification as peace. Xi Jinping warned Trump during their Beijing summit last week that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. ties, a warning that now hangs over Taiwan’s effort to keep the arms channel open.
