Mainland urges US to stop arming Taiwan

A Chinese mainland spokesman urged the US to stop arming Taiwan, and warned the Democratic Progressive Party authorities that seeking "independence" by relying on the US will only bring harm and lead to their own destruction.

Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the Chinese mainland firmly opposes any form of military contact between the US and Taiwan, and called on the US to honor the political commitments it has made regarding the Taiwan question and to stop arming Taiwan.

According to the latest draft of the National Defense Authorization Act released by the US Congress on Sunday, the US will authorize up to $1 billion in military aid to Taiwan for the fiscal year 2026. The act also requires the US Secretary of Defense to "enable fielding of uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems capabilities" with Taiwan by March 1, 2026.

"The US Congress has insisted on inserting negative Taiwan-related content into relevant legislation," Chen said, describing the move as "a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US Joint Communiqués".

He added that such actions constitute blatant interference in China's internal affairs and send a dangerously wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

Addressing the Taiwan-related content in the US National Security Strategy, Chen reiterated that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair and that resolving it is a matter for the Chinese people alone, leaving no room for external interference.

The document said that "deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority" and that "the US does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait". The island's leader Lai Ching-te welcomed the statement and said that Taiwan remains firmly committed to "strengthening its 'self-defense' and safeguarding regional peace".

Chen criticized the DPP authorities for clinging to a "Taiwan independence" separatist stance and for continuously colluding with external forces, calling this the root cause of tension and instability in the Taiwan Strait.

He warned that any attempt by the DPP authorities to "seek 'independence' by relying on external forces" or to "pursue 'independence' by force" is doomed to fail.