Wicker Urges US to Uphold Taiwan Security Commitments

Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called on Washington to uphold its security commitments to Taiwan as lawmakers press the Trump administration over delayed military assistance to the island.

Wicker made the comments after meeting Tuesday with Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s representative to the United States. His statement comes after four other Republican senators urged President Donald Trump’s administration to release more than $15 billion in stalled national security assistance for Taiwan.

The United States maintains no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but remains its leading international supporter and weapons supplier. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is required to make defensive arms and services available to Taiwan so the island can maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities.

Wicker said Congress has a responsibility to ensure the law is followed and that decisions concerning Taiwan’s defense requirements are based on assessments of military necessity. He also said his meeting with Yui covered what he described as growing Chinese aggression toward U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.

Congress has authorized additional resources for Taiwan, including military training, security assistance and arms sales, and Wicker said those authorities should be used as lawmakers intended.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has repeatedly demanded an end to U.S. arms sales to the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim and maintains that its people should determine the island’s future.

Trump said in May that a new Taiwan arms package worth roughly $14 billion was being held in abeyance. Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington last week, Trump said Xi understood his position regarding Taiwan.

Wicker also pointed to a precedent established under former President Ronald Reagan that Washington would not consult Beijing over arms sales to Taiwan.

Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Tuesday that Taipei remains in continuous discussions with Washington about arms sales and has received assurances since the Trump-Xi summit that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed.