US Official: Beijing Doesn't Influence Arms Sales – June 26, 2026
A top US official affirms that Beijing has no say in the US president's approval of a pending US arms sales to Taipei. Taiwan's military wraps up five days of defense preparedness drills. And TaiwanPlus takes a tour of a few frigates and a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier at this year's RIMPAC joint naval exercises in Hawaii. Plus: - Southern Taiwan has been walloped by torrential rains and flooding brought on by a nearby tropical storm. - Humanitarian aid and support flood into Venezuela a day after twin major earthquakes hit near its capital. - How is the US-led Pax Silica Initiative shaping up to challenge China's dominance of rare earths processing and refining?
