A bipartisan group of US senators has urged President Donald Trump to formally approve a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan ahead of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, warning that any weakening of American support for Taipei would embolden Beijing and destabilise the Indo-Pacific. The letter, sent on 12 May 2025, calls on the administration to notify Congress of the long-pending sale that was pre-approved in January 2025.

Key Demands in the Senate Letter

The letter was led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Senator Thom Tillis, and co-signed by a cross-party group including Chris Coons, John Curtis, Tammy Duckworth, Jacky Rosen, Andy Kim, and Elissa Slotkin. The bipartisan composition underscores broad congressional consensus on Taiwan's security.

"We strongly encourage your administration to formally notify the $14 billion in US arms sales to Taiwan that Congress pre-approved in January 2025," the senators wrote. The proposed package reportedly includes drones, anti-ship missiles, radar systems, and mines — assets the lawmakers argue would make a Chinese invasion "prohibitively costly".

Taiwan's Own Defence Push

The senators pointed to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan having approved a "robust special defense budget of $25 billion" aimed at bolstering the island's self-defence capabilities amid growing military pressure from Beijing. According to the letter, a significant portion of that spending is earmarked for US-provided defensive arms pending congressional notification, including counter-drone assets, an integrated battle command system, and medium-range munitions.

The lawmakers praised Taiwan's political leaders for overcoming "persistent and overt pressure from Beijing" to pass the defence bill, and urged Washington to demonstrate comparable resolve.

Warning Against Using Taiwan as a Bargaining Chip

The senators explicitly cautioned Trump against treating Taiwan as leverage in trade or geopolitical talks with Xi. "You should make clear to Beijing that as you seek to level the economic playing field, American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation," they wrote. This comes amid elevated tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade restrictions, technology controls, military activity in the Taiwan Strait, and competing influence across the Indo-Pacific.

Notably, the letter frames the Taiwan question not just as a security issue but an economic one for American households. The senators warned that a Chinese move against Taiwan "would trigger severe and long-term inflation, supply chain disruptions that would destroy manufacturing jobs at home and steep hikes in the cost of living."

Broader Context: US-China-Taiwan Triangle

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has repeatedly vowed to bring the self-governed island under its control, including by force if necessary. The senators described Taiwan's defence partnership with the United States as "an effective bulwark against Chinese military action that would plunge the world into a catastrophic war." The timing of the letter — days before a high-stakes Trump-Xi summit — signals congressional intent to constrain any executive-level concessions on Taiwan's security status.

With the summit approaching and the arms notification still pending, the pressure on the Trump administration to act — or explain its inaction — is set to intensify.