Taiwan’s defence minister said on Tuesday he had no information about the United States splitting a potential $14 billion arms sale into smaller parts. Wellington Koo was speaking in parliament in Taipei.

He said Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s defences had not changed. “We respect the US review process,” he said. “At present, we have not received any information about so-called separate batches.”

President Donald Trump has held back approval of the package. He wants to preserve warm relations with China’s President Xi Jinping. A fragile trade truce is also at stake.

In December, Trump approved an $11 billion arms package. In May, after meeting Xi in Beijing, Trump said he was holding up a second package. He called it a “very good negotiating chip.”

Some Taipei officials had suggested Washington could carve the sale into smaller chunks. The idea was to avoid upsetting Beijing too much. China views Taiwan as its territory. It wants the arms sales to end.

Koo said 66 advanced F-16V fighter jets were ready for delivery. The jets were due in 2024 but faced production delays. US law requires Washington to help Taiwan defend itself.