{"id":15945,"date":"2026-06-18T14:01:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15945"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:01:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:01:43","slug":"taiwan-needs-us-weapons-for-self-defense-as-threat-from-china-grows-diplomat-tells-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15945","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan needs US weapons for self-defense as threat from China grows, diplomat tells AP"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DIDI TANG<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Taiwan needs to purchase American weapons to ensure its self-defense in the face of a growing threat from Beijing, the island\u2019s top diplomat in the U.S. said, adding that he has seen no change in Washington\u2019s policy toward the self-governing island that China claims as its own.<\/p>

Read more Legislation overhauling college sports faces a major test in the Senate<\/a><\/p>\n

A $14-billion arms sale package to Taiwan is still in limbo after President Donald Trump returned from Beijing in May and said he had discussed the proposal \u201cin great detail\u201d with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, heightening anxieties in Taiwan and raising concerns among lawmakers on the Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need those arms for defensive purposes,\u201d Alexander Yui Tah-ray, who heads the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday in Washington. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to increase our defense expenditure. We try to increase our ability to defend ourselves better and survive times of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States, like most countries, does not officially recognize Taiwan as a country. China prohibits any state it has diplomatic relations with from having formal ties with Taipei. But the U.S. is the island\u2019s strongest informal backer and arms provider.<\/p>\n

Yui, while not formally an ambassador to the U.S., acts as Taiwan\u2019s top envoy in Washington.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has not moved forward with the $14 billion weapons sale proposal approved by senior lawmakers earlier this year. Trump has described the sale as a \u201cvery good negotiating chip\u201d with China.<\/p>\n

Washington is obligated by domestic law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter aggression from China, which claims sovereignty over the island and vows to seize it, by force if necessary, to achieve what it considers to be unification. Beijing has always opposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which has never been under China\u2019s communist rule.<\/p>

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  • \n
    \"Taiwan's<\/figure>\n
    Taiwan\u2019s top diplomat in Washington, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
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    \"Taiwan's<\/figure>\n
    Taiwan\u2019s top diplomat in Washington, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, speaks during an interview, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"Taiwan's<\/figure>\n
    Taiwan\u2019s top diplomat in Washington, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, speaks during an interview, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"Taiwan's<\/figure>\n
    Taiwan\u2019s top diplomat in Washington, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, speaks during an interview, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><\/ul>
    Taiwan\u2019s top diplomat in Washington, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n<\/div>Expand<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

    Taiwanese diplomat says the island won\u2019t wait for \u2018the U.S. cavalry\u2019<\/h4>\n

    Yui said Taiwan is aware that it must defend its territory.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis is our responsibility, so we will not wait and depend for the U.S. cavalry to come and save us,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re willing to acquire, to buy U.S. equipment and arms to make ourselves stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Yui said the weapons sales need to be \u201ccommensurate\u201d to the threat level, which is \u201cactually pretty high\u201d from China.<\/p>\n

    \u201cFirst and foremost, we\u2019re not the aggressors. It is the People\u2019s Republic of China who is sending all the planes and ships,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones huffing and puffing. They are the ones who\u2019s trying to annihilate our freedom and democracy in Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>

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    China sends warships and military aircraft near Taiwan almost daily and has conducted major military exercises around the island in recent years.<\/p>\n

    Beijing sees the island as a core interest and has criticized those supporting Taiwanese independence for causing instability in the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n