Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Saturday that the island needs to secure defensive weapons from the United States, despite warming relations with rival China.

However, Ma acknowledged that different opinions in Washington were preventing arms sales to the island from going forward.

The comments were the first direct response from the Taiwanese president following media reports last month that the U.S. had suspended weapons sales to the island to avoid the ire of Beijing.

Among the items at issue are F-16 jet fighters, Patriot III anti-missile missiles and Apache helicopters.

In comments to Taiwanese reporters on the arms issue, Ma said that improving relations with China, including the start of the first weekend direct flights in almost 60 years, were no reason for Taiwan to let down its defenses against its communist rival.

“Our stance will definitely not change just because we have improved relations with the mainland,” he said.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. China continues to claim Taiwan as part of its territory and strongly opposes foreign countries selling it weapons. Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade if the island formally declares independence.

While Washington shifted recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, the U.S. is the Taiwan’s most important foreign partner and the major source of its imported arms.

However, influential voices in the U.S. State Department are believed to favor an open-ended suspension of arms sales to Taiwan, reflecting China’s growing economic and political clout in Washington.

In his comments, Ma acknowledged the new stance was creating problems for Taiwan.

“It is a difficult situation for us,” he said.