Report: Trump rejects billions in military aid for Taiwan

A White House official told the newspaper that the decision on the aid package is not yet final. Such a move would represent a significant departure from previous US policy toward the island threatened by Beijing.

Under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, Washington provided Taipei with more than two billion dollars in military aid. Trump, however, "does not support arms transfers without payment," the report stated. This attitude is also evident in the Ukraine war.

Negotiations in August without breakthrough

According to the report, defense officials from Taiwan and the US met in Anchorage, Alaska, in August. The talks focused on arms sales "worth billions of dollars." The package reportedly included drones, missiles, and sensors for monitoring the island's coast.

On Friday, Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi plan to speak by phone again—the second time since Trump returned to the White House in January this year. Both sides are currently negotiating tariffs and the restructuring of the ownership structure of the video platform TikTok in the US. TikTok is owned by the China-based ByteDance group.

China has conducted several large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. Beijing views Taiwan, which has been democratic and independent for decades, as a renegade province that seeks to be reunified with the mainland—if necessary by military force.

Despite increasing its military spending, the island remains heavily dependent on the United States to fend off a potential Chinese attack. Since Trump's return to the White House, concerns have grown in Taipei about Washington's willingness to support the island in the event of a Chinese attack.