China urges US to stop arming Taiwan

China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the United States' latest arms sale to China's Taiwan region, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said on Tuesday.

Wu Qian, the ministry spokesman, made the remarks in response to a media query on the $300-million sale of equipment, which was recently approved by the US State Department.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the sale was for follow-on life cycle support to maintain Taiwan's command, control, communications and computers, or C4 capabilities, according to media reports.

Wu said the US arms sale has seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, especially the Aug 17 Communique.

The move has seriously undermined China's sovereignty and security, posed a grave threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sent an erroneous signal to the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence", he said, emphasizing that the Taiwan question has always been the most important and sensitive issue at the very heart of China-US relations.

China urges the US to halt arms sales to Taiwan, honor its commitment not to support "Taiwan independence" with concrete actions, and cease interference in China's internal affairs, Wu said.

Any attempt to use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail, and seeking "Taiwan independence" by military means will lead nowhere, he noted.

The People's Liberation Army has intensified military training and combat readiness to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and firmly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Wu added.