A $14bn US arms package for Taiwan has been put on "pause" while the Pentagon ensures it retains enough munitions for the Iran war, acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday. The package, which Congress approved in January, has been awaiting 
Donald Trump's sign-off for months, the Guardian reported. Cao told the panel any decision to move forward rests with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Al Jazeera reported.
What did Cao say? "Right now, we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury — which we have plenty," Cao told the panel, adding that "the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary." Senator Mitch McConnell, pressing Cao on whether the sale would eventually be approved, called the deferral to Rubio and Hegseth "really distressing," the Guardian reported.
How did Taipei respond? Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters on Friday that Taiwan would continue to pursue arms purchases, Al Jazeera reported, citing local outlet FTV News. Presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said Taipei would keep coordinating with Washington on the deliveries, HKFP reported.
What is the wider context? If approved, the package would be the largest-ever US weapons transfer to Taiwan, surpassing the record $11bn deal Trump signed off in December. The pause follows a week in which Trump met Chinese leader 
Xi Jinping in Beijing, described the Taiwan weapons packages as "a very good negotiating chip" in a Fox News interview, and said he would speak with 
Lai Ching-te — a move that would break decades of diplomatic protocol, Al Jazeera reported. William Yang of the Crisis Group said in a social media post that the pause will "exacerbate anxiety and scepticism about US support in Taiwan."
Figures referenced: Donald Trump, Lai Ching-te, Xi Jinping. — JudgeMarket.
