UPDATE 2-Taiwan says President Lai would be happy to talk to Trump

Taiwan said on Thursday that President Lai Ching-te would be happy to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump, setting the stage for an unprecedented conversation between the leader of the world's biggest economy and ‌the island China claims. The decision could roil Washington's relations with Beijing and help decide the fate of a massive arms package that the U.S. is considering for Taiwan.

U.S. and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979. China considers Taiwan ‌its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. Trump said on Wednesday he ‌would speak to Lai, the second time in a week he has done so, dispelling initial speculation that his first mention of it after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping last week was a verbal slip.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry reiterated comments Lai made on Wednesday that if he got the opportunity to speak to Trump, he would say China is ⁠undermining peace ​and his government will keep the ⁠status quo across the Taiwan Strait. "In addition to being committed to maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait, President Lai is also happy to discuss these ⁠matters with President Trump," the ministry added, without elaborating.

It is still unclear when the talks might occur. In late 2016, Trump, at the time the president-elect, ​broke decades of U.S. diplomatic precedent by speaking directly, by telephone, with then-Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

TRUMP-XI SUMMIT Trump, who met Xi in Beijing ⁠last week where Taiwan was a major focus of the talks, is weighing whether to approve a new arms sales package for the island, which Reuters has reported could be ⁠worth ​some $14 billion.

The U.S. is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Speaking to reporters in parliament on Thursday, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the U.S. has repeatedly reaffirmed that its policy towards Taiwan is unchanged.

In addition ⁠to peace and stability in the strait being a core U.S. interest, providing Taiwan with defensive capabilities through arms sales in accordance with ⁠the Taiwan Relations Act is an established ⁠U.S. policy, he added. "Given that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, I think we remain cautiously optimistic about arms purchases," Koo said.

Beijing has been angered by longstanding U.S. military support for Taiwan to deter Chinese ‌military action, including arms sales. Taiwan's ‌government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)