WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US policy on supplying arms to Taiwan remains unchanged, a State Department official said Friday, two days after a US admiral said Washington had frozen arms sales to the island.

Asked by reporters if Admiral Timothy Keating's statement Wednesday that a freeze was in place was correct, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that US policy was unchanged.

"The administration faithfully implements the Taiwan Relations Act under which the United States makes available items necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient defense," he said.

Asked directly if the policy had changed, McCormack replied: "The short answer is no."

On Wednesday Keating, commander of the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command, told a forum in Washington that the freeze on US arms sales to Taiwan was "administration policy."

Keating said the US decision was made in light of the warming ties between Taiwan and China, as well as Beijing's concerns.

He was the first US official to confirm the freeze, following reports last month that the United States was holding up an 11-billion-dollar weapons package and delivery of dozens of F-16 jet fighters for Taiwan.

McCormack avoided commenting directly on Keating's remarks, but insisted that what McCormack said regarding implementing the Taiwan Relations Act remains "the official US government position."

On Thursday Taiwan said it would continue seeking self-defense weapons from the United States.

"We'll step up communications with the United States," defense ministry spokeswoman Chi Yu-lan told AFP without elaborating.

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