The United States has put a $14 billion arms sale toTaiwanon pause, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed Thursday, pointing to the ongoing war with Iran as the reason behind the decision.
Cao made the disclosure during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, telling Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky that the hold was necessary to ensure the U.S. has enough munitions for its military operations against Iran.
"Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury," Cao said, referring to the Iran operation. "We're just making sure we have everything, but then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary."
He added that the final call on resuming the sale would rest with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
McConnell's response was pointed. "Yeah, that's what's really distressing," he said.
Trump suggested the pause had less to do with munitions and more to do with diplomacy, specifically with China. Speaking to Fox News, he indicated the arms sale could serve as a bargaining chip in his dealings with Beijing.
"I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens,"Trumpsaid. "I may do it; I may not do it."
After returning from a trip to China, Trump told reporters the subject came up with Chinese President Xi Jinping "in great detail," adding that he would "make a determination over the next fairly short period."
The disconnect between what the Navy secretary and the president are saying has raised eyebrows in Washington, particularly given that the U.S. has long maintained a policy known as the Six Assurances, a set of principles dating back to the Reagan administration in 1982. One of those assurances explicitly states that the U.S. will not consult China on arms sales to Taiwan.
Reports indicate the country has used nearly all of its remaining long-range stealth cruise missiles, while also drawing down heavily on Tomahawks, Patriot interceptor missiles, Precision Strike missiles and ATACMS ground-based missiles. The scale of that depletion over a 12-week conflict has raised serious questions about where American military readiness stands right now.
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