Retired U.S. admiral urges Taiwan arms sales after Trump-Xi summit

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) The United States should move ahead with arms sale notifications for Taiwan following the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, a retired senior U.S. Navy officer said Friday.

Mark Montgomery, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, told reporters in Taipei that the Trump-Xi summit had delayed the announcements of proposed sales, and he hoped the summit would have no further effect on them, urging Washington to avoid further delays.

"We need to make the arms sale notifications so that Taiwan can get in line, so that they can get these weapons when they're ready," Montgomery said.

The White House was mum on whether Taiwan was even addressed at the meeting.

The Chinese side said Xi called on the U.S. to oppose Taiwan independence and "handle the Taiwan question with prudence," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency, but there was no mention of weapons sales being discussed.

Montgomery said U.S. lawmakers were concerned about delays to the sales and drew a distinction between notifying Congress of a proposed deal and delivering the weapons.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recently linked delays in the U.S. military's need for weapons of its own, Montgomery said, but he argued that delivery constraints should not hold up notifications.

Some weapons proposed for Taiwan are not needed by the U.S. military, he added.

Montgomery urged Washington to send notifications to Congress as soon as possible, suggesting that a proposed US$14 billion sale, which has been stalled since early in 2026, could be divided into several smaller packages announced over a few weeks.

Asked about Xi's remarks on Taiwan during the summit, Montgomery said the Chinese leader had an interest in raising the issue. What mattered more, he said, was how Trump responded and what the U.S. government did afterward.

Readouts of the summit had yet to be issued by either side as of Friday morning Taiwan time.

Montgomery said continued adherence to the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances should be reflected in U.S. actions, including providing Taiwan with weapons for self-defense and preparing for a potential regional crisis.

He argued, however, that arms sales alone would not be enough, saying that the two militaries needed to improve their ability to operate together through air and naval exercises, training and joint planning.

"It's very hard to cooperate and fight together in wartime if you don't work together in peacetime," Montgomery said.