TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's government said Friday (May 22) it had received no official word that Washington was pausing a US$14 billion (NT$444 billion) arms sale — even as U.S. officials offered conflicting explanations for doing exactly that. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao cited munitions for the Iran war. President Donald Trump had called the sale a "negotiating chip" with China. What remains unclear is which rationale, if either, reflects actual policy.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) acknowledged the confusion during legislative questioning in the afternoon but urged caution. "We have noted this statement," Cho told legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) of the opposition Kuomintang party in Taiwan's parliament, the Legislative Yuan. "But we have paid more attention to the many different statements that followed, which also support continuing to execute this arms sale."
Earlier that day, Taiwan's Presidential Office said it had not received notification of changes to the sale, nor any indication that a Trump-Lai call had been scheduled. The information gap left officials parsing public statements for clues about Washington's intentions.
The contradictions trace to Capitol Hill. Cao testified before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, The Hill reported, telling Senator Mitch McConnell that Washington was temporarily withholding the Taiwan package.
Cao said the decision rested with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. McConnell, a longtime Taiwan advocate, called that answer "distressing" — a rare rebuke from a senior Republican toward a Trump administration official.
But Trump had offered a different explanation before Cao testified. "I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens," he told Fox News last week. "I may do it; I may not do it." He indicated the sale could serve as leverage with Beijing, with whom he discussed the matter "in great detail" during his May 14 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
That framing could violate longstanding U.S. commitments. The Six Assurances, nonbinding principles adopted in 1982, specifically prohibit consulting with Beijing on Taiwan arms sales — a line Trump appeared to cross by discussing the package with Xi.
Defense analysts have questioned the coherence of the administration's position. Joe Gould, a defense reporter for NOTUS, pointed to the contradiction in Cao's explanation on X. "If there's plenty, why is the pause needed?" Gould wrote.
The question of U.S. stockpiles remains contested. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report last month found the United States had depleted roughly half its precision-strike missiles and up to 80 percent of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors in the Iran conflict. Hegseth, however, told House appropriators last week that stockpile concerns were "overstated." The White House is expected to request US$80 billion to US$100 billion from Congress to replenish weapons.
What is confirmed: Cao testified that a pause is underway. What is not confirmed: whether that pause reflects a formal policy decision, how long it will last, or whether Trump's "negotiating chip" framing supersedes Cao's logistical explanation. Taiwan, which has not received official notification through official channels, is left to navigate the uncertainty. For now, Taipei can only watch the signals from Washington — and wait for clarity that has not yet come. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.51)