US Senate Armed Services Chairman reaffirms Six Assurances and continuity of arms sales.

In remarks by U.S. House Committee on Armed Services Chairman Wicker, the "Six Assurances" put forward by the Reagan administration in the 1980s—namely that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan would not be negotiated through the Chinese Communist Party—were reaffirmed, serving as a precedent for cross-strait security. This statement followed shortly after Taiwan's Representative to the United States, Alexander Tah-ray Yui, met with Wicker in Washington. On the same day, U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held high-level talks in Beijing. Although the two sides discussed multiple issues, their respective stances on the cross-strait situation remained unchanged. During the meeting, Yui stated that the United States will continue to maintain its policy of arms sales to Taiwan, emphasizing that this measure is intended to balance security needs in cross-strait relations.

The "Six Assurances" were first officially put forward by the U.S. Department of State during the Reagan administration in 1981, with the objective of establishing a clear military supply framework in U.S.-Taiwan relations to prevent unpredictability in Taiwan's armaments caused by the intervention of the Chinese Communist Party. This policy complements the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which endows the United States with statutory responsibilities regarding Taiwan's security and economic relations. The Reagan administration adopted a dual approach of "strategic ambiguity" and "strategic clarity" in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, neither directly committing to military intervention in the Taiwan Strait nor abandoning support for arms sales to Taiwan, thereby maintaining security guarantees for Taiwan while avoiding the triggering of a direct conflict with China.

Wicker pointed out during the meeting that the Reagan-era "Six Assurances" are not only a commitment to arms sales to Taiwan, but also a long-term U.S. strategy for cross-strait security. As the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Wicker has long been a steadfast supporter of arms sales to Taiwan and has repeatedly delivered speeches in Congress emphasizing the necessity of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the continuity of U.S. defense policy. Wicker's remarks are undoubtedly a strong response to internal congressional discussions on cross-strait security issues and convey a signal to Taiwan's political circles: the United States will strictly adhere to the principle of "precedent" to prevent any weakening of Taiwan's defense capabilities caused by policy changes.

From the perspective of international politics, this statement appears particularly significant against the backdrop of increasingly tense U.S.-China relations. As China's military activities in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait become increasingly frequent, Taiwan's reliance on U.S. arms sales and technical assistance when facing potential military threats is critically important. Although the U.S. "strategic ambiguity" policy in the Taiwan Strait remains unclear,