Lai Says Taiwan Won’t Be Sacrificed as Trump Weighs Arms Deal

(Bloomberg) — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said the self-ruled democracy cannot be traded away, days after US President Donald Trump described a planned $14 billion arms sale to Taipei as a bargaining chip with China.

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“Taiwan will never be sacrificed or traded,” Lai said in a Facebook post on Sunday evening, adding that the island’s central role in Indo-Pacific security and global supply chains, particularly for artificial intelligence and semiconductors, makes stability a shared interest among democratic nations.

The remarks followed last week’s historic meeting in Beijing between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who issued his starkest warning yet that mishandling of the Taiwan issue could push the two superpowers toward conflict.

After the summit, Trump told reporters he had made no commitments on Taiwan and would soon decide on the weapons package. Trump subsequently told Fox News that the planned arms sale was “a very good negotiating chip,” raising doubts about the scale of US military support for Taipei.

The US president also said he doesn’t want Taiwan to “go independent,” and called on both Taiwan and China to “cool down.”

Lai rejected characterizations that Taiwan seeks independence, saying “there’s no independence issue,” and repeating his position that the island is already a sovereign democratic state.

He also noted that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have repeatedly reaffirmed that US policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, and thanked Washington for its support of Taiwan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking on Fox News Sunday, called Lai’s stance “responsible,” adding that Taiwan’s status as “an independent country” was in the interest “of all freedom-loving people around the world.”

–With assistance from Yash Roy.