A view of the Taiwan Straits is seen from Xiamen port, in East China's Fujian Province. Photo:IC

US media recently reported that as the US government weighs stabilizing relations with China, a major arms sale to Taiwan island has fallen into limbo. The reports have reignited speculation in the Taiwan island over possibility of "US abandoning Taiwan island," putting the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, who have long claimed that relations between the US and the island are "rock solid", in an awkward position.

A US arms sale to Taiwan island is clashing with US President Donald Trump's desire to strike a trade deal with China, a report of The Hill claimed on Sunday.

Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at Defense Priorities, claimed in an interview with The Hill that the package will likely be delayed and announced after the president's reported trip to China, adding he expects the sale to include fewer advanced weapons, such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) light multiple rocket launchers, and M109 Paladin artillery system, and feature more F-16 fighter jets.

On February 18, The Wall Street Journal revealed that a major US arms-sales package for the island of Taiwan is in limbo.

When asked if the US planned to send more weapons to Taiwan island, Trump claimed that they'll make a determination pretty soon on February 16, reported The Hill.

The reports of US media have sparked doubts from Taiwan island local media with regard to US' commitment to the island as the 1982 Six Assurances bar the US from consulting Beijing on Taiwan arms sales.

Even Taiwan island's media outlet Formosa, which was founded by figures from DPP, published a commentary on Monday noted that though seemingly no more than a few remarks, this has been enough to unsettle Taiwan island. 

According to a Sunday report by United Daily News, Huang, Kwei-Bo, a professor in the department of diplomacy at National Chengchi University, said that in terms of weight within the US' overall national strategic layout, Taiwan island still has its importance, but its replaceability is growing. By contrast, the Chinese mainland occupies an absolutely higher position, and it also possesses both the capacity and the willingness to resist or counter the US, forcing Washington to view it differently. 

Separately, Wang Kun-Yih, president of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, wrote in an article published Saturday on CTI News that in recent years the mainland's rise in defense and economic strength - especially against the backdrop of a long-standing and severe imbalance in cross-Straits military capabilities - has made the cost for the United States to protect Taiwan increasingly high. During the Chinese New Year period, he noted, the DPP authorities' most frequent messaging was still urging Taiwan society not to further speculate notions such as "US abandoning Taiwan island", with any skepticism toward Washington potentially being labeled as "fellow traveler of the CPC." 

The article went on to ask: after the DPP has tied Taiwan's overall security and economic interests entirely to the US, yet now faces news that even arms sales to Taiwan might be subject to discussion, "shouldn't the DPP government be questioning whether the US is in fact the real 'fellow traveler of the CPC'?"

The United Daily News published a commentary on Friday, claiming this suggests that Washington's stance on Taiwan island is wavering and that its commitments to the island may change.

The Hill report claimed that while Trump isn't abandoning US support for Taiwan island, it shows "the extra level of priority that he gives to stabilizing bilateral relations with China, especially when it comes to trade."

The Taiwan question remains a central and unavoidable issue in China-US relations, whether on trade or other political matters, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Monday. As the current US administration prioritizes China-US trade relations in the current period, arms sales to the island of Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip. But in any case, arms sales cannot alter Chinese mainland's military advantage, nor can they change the fact that Taiwan island is part of China.

Previously in December 2025, responding to a question about the announcement of the US's large-scale arms sales to Taiwan island, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that the US's massive arms sales to China's Taiwan region grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, undermine China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, disrupt peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and send a seriously wrong message to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and others. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this, and has immediately lodged serious protests with the US side.