In a flagrant display of the British imperial geopolitical madness which dominates the U.S. Congress, eight Senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties sent a letter to President Donald Trump on May 8, urging him make a show of how U.S. military support for Taiwan “is inviolable,” before his trip to Beijing, and do so by formally notifying Congress that the $14 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan that Congress had pre-approved in January 2025 would now proceed. That would “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.
As a sweetener, they argued that the Taiwanese legislature had just passed “a robust special defense budget of $25 billion to enhance the island’s self-defense capabilities,” the majority of which budget could be used “to fund U.S.-provided defensive arms pending notification to Congress, including counter-drone assets, an integrated battle command system and medium-range munitions.”
The Senators knowingly sought a provocation which would sink any possibility of mutually beneficial expanded cooperation between the United States and China, should the President have satisfied their request. Stepped-up U.S. military arming of Taiwan is a red line for China, which seeks a peaceful reconciliation with this island, which has been a part of China for centuries.
The letter was initiated by New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeane Shaheen, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and co-authored with North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Five other Democrats (Chris Coons, Elissa Slotkin, Andy Kim, Tammy Duckworth, and Jacky Rosen) and one other Republican (John Curtis) also signed.
