Taiwan declared itself a sovereign and independent nation on Saturday, hours after US President Donald Trump warned the island against formally declaring independence.

Trump had just wrapped up a state visit to Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China, which claims the island as its territory.

What did Taiwan say after Trump’s independence warning?

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the island “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China.”

The statement was a direct response to Trump’s remarks and reaffirmed that US arms sales remain a core part of Washington’s security commitment to Taiwan, after Trump signaled he was reconsidering that issue.

What did Trump say about Taiwan independence?

Speaking to Fox News after his Beijing visit, Trump said he was not looking for Taiwan to declare independence. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” he said. The United States does not formally support Taiwan independence, but has historically stopped short of explicitly opposing it.

Trump also told reporters on Friday that he would make a determination on US arms sales to Taiwan within a fairly short period of time.

He had flagged before the summit that he intended to raise the arms sales question with Xi, a departure from Washington’s previous position that it would not consult Beijing on that matter. Taiwan’s parliament recently approved a $25 billion defense spending bill earmarked for US weapons.

What did Xi Jinping tell Trump about Taiwan?

Xi opened the Beijing summit with a direct warning, telling Trump that missteps on Taiwan could cause “conflict.” He pressed Trump not to support the island, which China claims as part of its territory.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te considers the island already independent, making a formal declaration of independence unnecessary from Taipei’s perspective.

What is the US legal position on Taiwan?

Under US law, Washington is required to provide Taiwan with weapons for its own defense through the Taiwan Relations Act. However, the United States has long maintained deliberate ambiguity over whether US forces would intervene militarily if China attacked the island.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that arms sales were “not only a US security commitment to Taiwan clearly stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats.”

China has repeatedly sworn to take Taiwan and has not ruled out using force, stepping up military pressure around the island in recent years.