The top US diplomat for East Asia sought to reassure Taiwan that Washington stood by its “Six Assurances” despite US President Donald Trump’s earlier dismissal of the policy but offered no timeline for approving a stalled US$14 billion arms package to the self-ruled island.

Michael DeSombre, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday that US policy on Taiwan had not changed, maintaining Washington’s commitment to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Pressed on Trump’s discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last month over Taiwan, DeSombre said Beijing was “constantly talking to us about their desire for us not to sell arms to Taiwan”.

“It’s something that is always discussed with them, but that is not in any way a deviation from the Six Assurances,” he said.

One of the Six Assurances – commitments made to Taiwan in 1982 – is that the US would not consult Beijing in advance before making decisions about arms sales to Taiwan. But Trump appeared to cut against that pledge during his China trip, saying he had discussed Taiwan arms sales with Xi “in great detail”.

Aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Trump played down the significance of the Six Assurances, telling reporters that “1982 is a long way … a big, far distance away”.