Taiwan's envoy has gone public to prod the Trump administration over an arms sale that has stopped moving. Governments do not do that while the private channel is working.

The Straits Times reported the envoy's push this week. The sale is described as stalled.

A sale described as stalled has not been refused. A refusal would at least be an answer, and Taipei could plan around it. What it has is a package sitting in someone's in-tray.

Washington has left the decision open. Delay now works as policy. It costs Washington nothing and costs Taipei a calendar it cannot get back.

Meanwhile the in-tray fills from the other direction. Iran's top diplomat said on Sunday there is no military solution to the United States' war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending it apparently at an impasse. Iran's state media says the Strait of Hormuz stays shut until seven Iranian conditions are met.

Every week that war runs, the Taiwan file ranks lower in the queue. Nobody in the administration has to decide that. It happens by default.

Beijing can read the same calendar as well as Taipei can. A Washington that is busy in the Gulf and uncommitted on Taiwan hands Beijing time.

If the read is right, the next public word on this sale will come from Taipei again, and Washington's answer will arrive only when the Gulf lets it.