BEIJING: The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that China firmly opposes and has lodged serious representations with the United States over its latest arms sales and military assistance to China’s Taiwan region.
The remarks came after the White House on Saturday announced military assistance worth $571.3 million to Taiwan region, alongside the U.S. Department of Defense’s approval of $295 million in arms sales to the island.
A spokesperson for the ministry said the United States’ approval for military assistance and arms sales to China’s Taiwan region seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique of 1982, and China’s sovereignty and security interests.
The decision is a severe breach of the U.S. leaders’ commitment to not support “Taiwan independence,” the spokesperson added, and sends a gravely wrong signal to “Taiwan secessionists” forces.
“To aid ‘Taiwan independence’ by arming Taiwan is just like playing with fire and will get the U.S. burned, and to use the Taiwan question to contain China is doomed to fail,” the spokesperson said, stressing that the Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations.
“China urges the U.S. to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop the dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. We will take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council responded to the same issue on the same day.
“Taiwan secessionists” activities and external interference are the biggest threats to peace across the Taiwan Straits, said Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson.
“We urge the U.S. side to immediately stop arming Taiwan and handle the Taiwan question with extra prudence,” she said, warning the Democratic Progressive Party authorities that “using force to seek independence” is a dead end.
