Navy: Iran war stockpile woes behind 'pause' on aid to Taiwan​

Today, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the U.S. is pausing arms sales to Taiwan because of the war with Iran.

“Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury,” Cao told Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who asked about the possible pause at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Cao maintained the U.S. has “plenty” of munitions, and said the arms sales will resume when “the administration deems necessary.”

Cao’s remarks clash with the administration’s previously stated rationale for a pause.

Last week, Donald Trump floated that he may delay the approval of a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China. “I haven’t approved it yet. We’re going to see what happens,” Trump told Fox News. “I may do it, I may not do it.”

NOTUS Defense reporter Joe Gould called the acting Navy Secretary’s remarks “odd.” “If there's plenty, why is the pause needed?,” he wrote on X.

Cao’s comments come amid continued concerns over the state of U.S. stockpiles. A CSIS report published last month suggests the U.S. has burned through some key munitions fighting Iran — including about half of its Precision Strike Missiles and up to 80% of its THAAD interceptors

But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly dismissed munitions-related concerns. “We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need,” he proclaimed at a congressional hearing last week.

Trump’s possible arms sales pause has frustrated Taiwan’s leaders, amid rising tensions over the island and the future of its relationship with the United States. On Sunday, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te urged the Trump administration to continue the sales as a means to maintain “regional peace and security.”