US weapons or China’s friendship? Trump’s Iran war volatility reignites debate for Taiwan

Over Taiwan’s Qingming holiday weekend, as families cleaned ancestral graves and crowded around dinner tables, a familiar debate has resurfaced: should this island democracy rely more heavily on the United States for its security or try to reduce tensions by engaging with China?

For some, the war in Iran has raised urgent questions about how much attention the US can sustain if multiple crises unfold at once. Delays in arms deliveries, depletion of weapon stockpiles and President Donald Trump’s transactional approach to allies and partners all reinforce those doubts.

That debate is sharpening this week as Cheng Li-wun, the firebrand chair of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, heads to China on a six-day trip that could include a landmark meeting with leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

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