Washington DC - Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a massive arms sale to Taiwan, opposed by Beijing, remains under review, adding that Washington's policy on the self-ruled island was unchanged.

"There was a second pending sale ... the $14 billion one, and that remains under review," Rubio said during a hearing at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

President Donald Trump has not committed to moving ahead with the arms package requested by Taipei, calling it "a very good negotiating chip" in dealings with China.

Rubio told the Senate panel that Washington had already approved a $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan in December.

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Asked about the $14 billion deal under discussion, Rubio answered: "We want to see the status quo preserved as it is at this moment."

He continued: "It's a very ... delicate relationship to balance, but our policy on Taiwan is not changing."

US authorities announced in late May that they had paused arms sales to Taiwan to ensure the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations.

Arms sales to Taiwan remain a thorny issue between Washington and Beijing.

The US is required by law to supply the island, which has a democratically elected president and legislature, with weapons for its defense.

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

After a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last month, at which Xi again voiced opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan, Trump made no commitment on the proposed deal.