Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te said on July 3 that he hopes the US will approve a $14 billion arms sale package "as soon as possible," stressing that the island "rejects unification" with China.
Speaking before the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Taipei, Lai reaffirmed his desire for dialogue with China based on "equality and respect" but argued that only the people of Taiwan have the right to decide their future.
"Taiwan's protection of national security, maintenance of a democratic and free way of life, rejection of unification, and rejection of rule by the Chinese Communist Party should not be seen as a provocation toward China," he said.
Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential attack from China. Washington has pressed Taipei to increase defense spending. However, these arms sales also complicate relations between Washington and Beijing. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has intensified military and diplomatic pressure on the island.
In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the $14 billion package was "under review." A senior US military official later said Washington was pausing the deal to conserve munitions for the conflict in Iran.
"We will continue to maintain close contact with the US government and also hope that the arms purchase can be approved as soon as possible," Lai said.
The Taiwan president has supported increasing defense spending, but last month Taiwan's legislature approved only two-thirds of the $40 billion defense budget Lai proposed, cutting funds for drones and domestically produced weapons.
On July 3, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it was proposing another special defense package worth NT$210 billion (approximately US$6.64 billion) for surveillance drones and small unmanned surface vessels.
Lai called on China to abandon the use of force and military activities in the Western Pacific, arguing that Taiwan's arms purchases send an important message to the world that it is ready to defend itself.
