Trump refuses to approve massive arms package for Taiwan for China deal – WP

U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled $400 million in military aid to Taiwan in an effort to negotiate a trade deal and potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This is reported by The Washington Post, citing five unnamed people with knowledge of the matter.

"The decision, which can still be reversed, marks a 180-degree turn in US policy toward the self-governing island, which China considers its territory," the sources said .

Two of them say the $400 million aid package would be "more lethal" than previous aid shipments to Taiwan and would include munitions and drones.

A White House official said that a decision on the aid package has not yet been finalized. Taiwan's unofficial embassy in Washington declined to comment .

This large-scale package was agreed upon in August at a meeting of US and Taiwanese defense officials in Anchorage, according to four people familiar with the talks.

Taiwan plans to pay for a new arms package that could reach $7 billion by adopting an additional defense spending law, currently under discussion.

According to the interlocutors, the package will consist almost exclusively of "asymmetric" equipment – drones, missiles and sensors to monitor the island's coastline. However, the delivery of these next-generation weapons could take years. Taiwan is already awaiting billions of dollars worth of weapons, including F-16 fighter jets and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

• on September 15, Trump said that he would not impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods to stop Beijing from buying Russian oil unless European countries impose their own high tariffs on Chinese products.
• Trump believes that China could force Russia to end its war against Ukraine if European countries imposed economic restrictions on Beijing.