Follow-up - INA
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that he will speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, as the White House considers selling weapons to the democratic island.
"I will speak to him (the Taiwanese President). I speak to everyone," Trump said, adding that he held a great meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his official visit to Beijing last week.
He continued, "We will work on that, the Taiwan issue."
Following the summit with Xi, Trump stated that additional arms sales to Taiwan "depend on China," and that it is "a very good bargaining chip for us."
Taiwan relies heavily on U.S. support to deter any potential Chinese attack, and faces severe pressure to increase its spending through investing in American companies.
U.S. laws mandate that Taiwan must be supplied with weapons to defend itself; however, Washington maintains an ambiguous position regarding whether it would intervene militarily to defend Taipei.
