China has reacted to the media report, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urging the US to show maximum restraint on the Taiwan issue to avoid harming bilateral relations and destabilizing the situation in the region.
"We have repeatedly emphasized that the Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive core issue in the China-US relationship," Hua told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.
Washington is considering sending a warship to sail through the strategic Taiwan Strait, in what could be seen by Taiwan as a fresh sign of US support in wake of a series of Chinese naval exercises around the island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, Reuters reported.
Since taking office, President Trump has approved the sale of $1.4 billion worth of arms to Taipei. In March, he signed new rules allowing senior US officials to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts and vice versa.
Although well-armed with mostly US-made weapons, Taiwan has been asking for more advanced equipment from the US, which is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Even though it adopted the “One China” policy in 1979, the US maintains close trade ties with the island and remains its top supplier of weapons.
China considers self-governing Taiwan part of its territory and claims sovereignty over it.
READ MORE: China Views US Claims on South China Sea Militarization as Meddling — Official
Almost all countries in the world, including the US, recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan under a policy known as “One China.”
Trump, has toned down his rhetoric about Taiwan in recent months, as he is seeking China's aid in the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
The United States and China are also trying to find their way out of a major trade dispute that has seen the two countries exchanging threats of tit-for-tat tariffs on goods worth up to $150 billion each.
