US President Donald Trump says he will talk to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about a possible arms sale, in what would be a sharp departure from diplomatic tradition.
US and Taiwanese leaders have not spoken directly since 1979 – when Washington severed formal ties with Taiwan to recognise the Beijing government.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force. Lai, who took office in 2024, is behind one of the strongest pushes in years to strengthen the island’s defence.
The US has long supported Taiwan and is bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has had to balance this with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.
When asked on Wednesday if he planned to speak to Lai ahead of making a decision on US arms sales, Trump said: “I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody.. we’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.”