Brent Christensen, the former director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, told a Washington symposium that US policy towards Taiwan had undergone a “discontinuity”. It had become “less independent” from Washington’s China policy under the current administration, he said.
Christensen was among former US officials who gathered on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, for the Global Taiwan Institute’s symposium, “Looking Towards 2027: US-Taiwan Relations Amid Rising Tensions in Asia”. The event took place at 1777 F Street NW, Rockefeller-Peterson Room in Washington, DC, and ran from 8:45 AM-4:40 PM (ET).
The consequence, the former officials argued, is a Taiwan policy increasingly bound up with Washington’s relationship with Beijing. They also warned that the war on Iran is weakening US military readiness for a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Christensen said Taiwan was facing “a huge increase in US demands for burden sharing, or for Taiwan to do more of its own production of weapon systems and increase defence spending”. He also said Washington was making greater demands for Taiwanese investment in US hi-tech.
Laura Rosenberger, who served on the National Security Council in former president Joe Biden’s administration and was chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan under Biden, focused on arms sales. She said she was “concerned” by their characterisation as a “negotiating chip” with Beijing.
One proposed sale worth US$14 billion had been pre-notified to Congress, yet “did not move forward”, Rosenberger said. There was “no sign the sale would progress”.
Rosenberger called using arms sales as leverage with Beijing “a very problematic” approach and “a fundamental departure” from the traditional US policy framework on Taiwan.
That framework includes the Six Assurances given by the US to Taiwan in July 1982, under which Washington pledged not to consult Beijing before deciding on arms sales to Taipei. Washington is opposed to any use of force in the Taiwan Strait and is committed to supplying Taiwan with arms.
The symposium followed a Washington summit between Trump and Xi Jinping last month. At that meeting, Xi reiterated his hope that the US would oppose “Taiwan independence” and urged Washington to handle the Taiwan issue with caution.
Alexander Yui Tah-ray, Taiwan’s envoy to the US, offered a different public assessment. He said Washington had made clear that its position on Taiwan had not changed, and that US-Taiwan relations remained “robust”.
The event included a moderated interview with former US policymakers. Its four panel discussions addressed regional geopolitics in Asia, the US-Taiwan trade and technology relationship, non-traditional threats to Taiwan’s security, and the growing military threat to Taiwan alongside its evolving defence posture.
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