Taipei says it’s yet to receive formal notice as concerns grow over Washington’s commitment to island’s security

The U.S. is pausing a $14bn arms sale to Taiwan as it diverts munitions to sustain the war against Iran, exposing mounting anxieties over rapidly depleting stockpiles.

It comes just days after Donald Trump returned from a high-profile summit with Xi Jinping in China, a country that claims sovereignty over self-governed Taiwan and has threatened to “reunite” it with the mainland by force, if necessary.

Trump said he had discussed the matter of the $14bn arms deal “in great detail” with Chinese president Xi Jinping and would make a decision “over the next fairly short period”, breaking decades of U.S. policy that states decision on Taiwan should not be made in collaboration with Beijing.