Taiwan's weapons pipeline from Washington has been stalled by the Trump-Xi summit, a bad sign for Taipei's defense timeline but one that retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery expects to clear soon.

• The US already delayed announcing new arms sales to Taiwan because of the Trump-Xi meeting.
• Xi was certain to raise Taiwan; what matters is how Trump answers and what the US does next.
• Montgomery wants Washington to notify Congress quickly, possibly splitting a $14 billion package into smaller chunks instead of one big announcement.
• Most of the weapons Taiwan wants are not things the US military needs itself, so supply is not the real obstacle.
• Taiwan sends the US huge volumes of chips that power American cars, jets, TVs and AI data centers, making it an economic partner as important as China is a rival.

Outlook: Expect pressure on the White House to move on the delayed arms package in the coming weeks, with smaller tranches more likely than one large deal.