Trump to decide 'soon' on sending weapons to Taiwan
The Hindu
Trump to decide soon on Taiwan weapons amid rising tensions with China ahead of April meeting with Xi Jinping.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday (February 16, 2026) he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so.
"I'm talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we'll make a determination pretty soon," Mr. Trump said, adding that he has a "good relationship" with the Chinese leader, whose country claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its territory.
In a phone call with Mr. Trump on February 4, Mr. Xi called for "mutual respect" in relations with the United States, while warning Washington about arms sales to the democratically run island.
"The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations... The US must handle arms sales to Taiwan with caution," Mr. Xi said, according to China's state broadcaster.
Both the leaders are due to meet in Beijing in April.
China's Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island of 23 million people is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to annex it.
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