US arms sale to Taiwan condemned

China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the United States' newly approved arms sale to Taiwan, a defense spokesman said on Thursday.

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks during a news conference in Beijing, noting that China has lodged solemn representations to the US.

The US Department of Defense recently approved arms sales worth nearly $2 billion for Taiwan, including a surface-to-air missile system and a radar system.

Zhang said the arms sales severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques.

"This move seriously undermined China's sovereignty and security interests, seriously disrupted China-US relations, undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and sent very wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," he said.

The US has reneged on its own promise and is intensifying efforts to arm Taiwan, emboldening the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and pushing Taiwan closer toward the "abyss of military conflict", the spokesman said.

He said Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party authorities purchased weapons to solicit US support, allowing the US to exploit the hard-earned money of the people in Taiwan to feed its military-industrial complex.

"Records have proved time and again that the 'Taiwan independence' separatists and foreign interference are the source of chaos that undermine the status quo, cause cross-Strait crises and disrupt regional stability," Zhang stressed.

The official reiterated China's stance regarding the Taiwan question, which he said is at the very core of China's interests and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.

"China urges the US to fully recognize the severe consequences of arming Taiwan, which would surely backfire, and not to go further down the wrong path," he said.

Several pieces of US weaponry will not close the cross-Strait military power gap, let alone stop the historical trend of China's reunification, Zhang said.

"The People's Liberation Army will continuously improve its combat readiness, comprehensively enhance the military capability to fight and win, and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he warned.

Zhang expressed firm opposition to any military contact between the US and Taiwan, responding to media reports that Taiwan military authorities signed an agreement with the US government to purchase up to 1,000 unmanned attack drones from US defense contractors.

At the news conference, the spokesman also refuted the joint statement recently issued by the G7 defense ministers' meeting.

The statement criticized China for its stances on issues related to the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Ukraine crisis, and called on China to stop supplying dual-use materials to Russia.

Zhang said that China firmly opposed the statement, which disregarded the facts, made groundless accusations against China, and was "filled with lies and prejudice".

Regarding the Ukraine issue specifically, he said China has always adhered to promoting peace talks and has strictly controlled the export of dual-use items.

"In contrast, it is the G7 countries that have been fanning the flames and escalating tensions while attempting to shift blame and responsibility onto China," said Zhang, noting that the international community has witnessed this clearly.

"We urge the relevant countries to genuinely adhere to the basic principles of international relations, refrain from acting as 'teachers' and stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and instead inject positive energy into a world fraught with turmoil," the spokesman said.

jiangchenglong@chinadaily.com.cn