China Protests US Military Assistance and Arms Sales to Taiwan

China has lodged serious protests with the United States following the most recent U.S. military assistance and arms sales to the Taiwan region. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the remarks in a statement on Sunday, after the White House announced military assistance worth $571.3 million to Taiwan on Saturday, and the U.S. Department of Defense announced on the same day that the State Department has approved $295 million worth of arms sales to the region.

The spokesperson said China "strongly deplores and firmly opposes" these moves. "The decision is a severe breach of the U.S. leaders' commitment of not supporting 'Taiwan independence', and sends a gravely wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," the spokesperson said.

By once again approving military assistance and arms sales to China's Taiwan region, the U.S. has seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique of 1982, as well as China's sovereignty and security interests, the spokesperson said.

To aid "Taiwan independence" by arming Taiwan is "like playing with fire and will get the U.S. burned", the spokesperson warned, emphasizing that the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests and is the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations.

Any attempt to use the Taiwan question to contain China is doomed to fail, and China will take all measures necessary to firmly defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, the spokesperson said.

Also on Sunday, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said that "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and foreign interference are the greatest threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait.

"We require the U.S. to immediately stop arming Taiwan, and deal with the Taiwan question with utmost caution," Zhu said. "We warn the Democratic Progressive Party authority that seeking 'Taiwan independence' by relying on the U.S. or military buildup is a dead end."

China has consistently and clearly opposed military connection between the U.S. and the Taiwan region, and on various occasions has called for the U.S. to stop emboldening "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

Earlier this month, China sanctioned 13 U.S. military companies and six senior executives as a countermeasure to U.S. sales of weapons to Taiwan.