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BEIJING: China threatened on Thursday (October 22) to retaliate against the latest US arms sale to Taiwan, as the island welcomed the arms package but said it was not seeking to enter an arms race with Beijing.
The Trump administration has increased support for Taiwan through arms sales and visits by senior US officials, adding to tensions between Beijing and Washington, already aggravated by disagreements over the South China Sea, Hong Kong. , human rights and trade.
Beijing has put increasing pressure on Taiwan to accept China’s sovereignty, including flying fighter jets through the sensitive midline of the Taiwan Strait, which normally serves as an unofficial buffer.
In response to the United States’ approval of a possible $ 1.8 billion arms sale to Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a daily press conference that such sales should stop.
The sales “seriously interfere with China’s internal affairs, seriously damage China’s sovereignty and security interests, send a seriously wrong signal to Taiwan’s pro-independence forces, and seriously damage Sino-US relations and peace and stability. in the Taiwan Strait, “he said.
“China will give a legitimate and necessary response according to how the situation develops,” Zhao added.
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He did not elaborate, but China has sanctioned US companies in the past for selling arms to Taiwan, although it is unclear what form they have taken.
The latest US weapons package includes sensors, missiles and artillery, and further notifications to Congress are expected for drones made by General Atomics and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles, made by Boeing, to serve as cruise missiles for coastal defense.
In Taipei, Taiwanese Defense Minister Yen De-fa thanked the United States and said the weapons would help Taiwan improve its defensive capabilities to deal with the “enemy threat and the new situation.”
“This includes credible combat capability and asymmetric warfare capabilities to strengthen our resolve to defend ourselves,” he added.
“This shows the importance the United States attaches to security in the Indo Pacific and the Taiwan Strait. We will continue to consolidate our security partnership with the United States.”
Yen said they weren’t looking for confrontation.
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“We will not participate in an arms race with the Chinese communists. We will propose requirements and build fully in accordance with the strategic concept of strong deterrence, defending our defensive position and needs.”
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has made defense modernization a priority in the face of the growing Chinese threat, particularly “asymmetric warfare” capabilities, which refers to making any Chinese attack difficult and costly. , for example, with smart mines and portable missiles.
Washington, which, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taipei although it is its strongest global sponsor, has been pressuring Taiwan to modernize its military so that it can become a “porcupine”, difficult to attack by China.
Taiwan has been testing new surface-to-surface missiles that it claims have the ability to strike deep within China, potentially giving the island the ability to strike distant Chinese air bases and command centers.
