US has not halted arms sales: MOFANO PAUSE: The US has suspended pending arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but Taiwan has not received any such notification, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saidBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and bloombergThere has been no indication that the US is to pause or alter arms sales to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, after Washington placed a hold on weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Ou said that communication between Taiwan and the US has been smooth, adding that Taipei has not received notice from Washington about a change in arms sales. All Washington’s arms sales to Taipei are under way per relevant procedure, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said. Concern over weapons sales to Taiwan arose following reports that Washington had put a temporary hold on some of its largest pending arms sales, including a Trump administration effort to sell F-35 jets to the UAE and smart bombs to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon officials previewed the sales pause to analysts on Tuesday during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, though they did not name the country or munitions involved.

Source: Taipei Times January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC