Foreign and Military Affairs

China warns US to be 'cautious' following arms sale

By Zhang Haizhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-02-25 11:06

United States' arms sale to Taiwan has "severely damaged" China's national security and core interest, the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday, urging Washington to be "cautious" in its wording and actions.

Senior Colonel Huang Xueping, the ministry's spokesman, said China is "highly concerned" about a recent US report saying Taiwan's fighter jets are incapable.

Taiwan's fighter jets are inferior to those on the Chinese mainland, Reuters quoted the US government report as saying on Monday, hinting at new weapons sales that would be "sure to anger Beijing".

The document, released by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, said that many of Taiwan's roughly 400 combat aircraft would not work in action due to age and maintenance problems, and upgrades are needed as the mainland's military gets stronger.

"Although Taiwan has nearly 400 combat aircraft in service, far fewer of these are operationally capable," said the one-off report, which was ordered by the US Congress.

China reacted angrily last month after US President Barack Obama's administration unveiled its first arms package for Taiwan, with Beijing saying it would impose unspecified sanctions on US companies involved.

Taiwan, according to Reuters, is seeking 66 new US-made F-16 fighter jets, but Washington officials wary of another China backlash have hedged on the request, saying they must evaluate Taiwan's overall defense needs.

"US arms sale to Taiwan has severely damaged China's national security, jeopardized China's core interest, and hurt seriously the inter-army relations between China and the US," Huang said.

He added China has not changed its decision to suspend some planned exchange between the two armies.

Beijing has delayed some high-level military visits to the US "in retaliation" for the arms deal with Taiwan, Pentagon officials said on Tuesday.

The officials, whose names were not cited, told Reuters that China has postponed planned visits to the US by its chief of the General Staff of People's Liberation Army Chen Bingde, as well as by one of its top regional commanders.

Washington is totally responsible for current difficulties in inter-military exchange between China and the US, Huang said.

He said China "requests the US to be cautious in its wording and actions", and "avoid causing further harms" onto peaceful development of cross-Strait relations between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.

"We request the US take concrete measures, and fully respect China's core interest and security concerns," Huang added.