TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s foreign ministry Sunday accused the US of “playing with fire” after it had announced arms sales and assistance to Taiwan.
On Friday, the White House announced US$571.3 million (NT$18.64 billion) in military weapons and training for Taiwan, while the Defense Security Cooperation Agency reported the sale of US$265 million worth of command, control, communications, and computers (C4) modernization and related equipment to Taiwan.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday thanked the US government for “continuing to resolutely fulfill its security commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and the ‘Six Assurances.’” The ministry pointed out that this was the 19th time the Biden administration had announced arms sales to Taiwan.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry Sunday said the latest package “seriously violates the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the ‘August 17’ communique, seriously infringes on China's sovereignty and security interests, and seriously violates the US leaders' commitment not to support ‘Taiwan independence.’”
The spokesperson claimed that Washington's actions sent a "seriously wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces." The ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the arms sales and lodged solemn representations to the US.
The spokesperson said the “Taiwan issue” is the core of China's interests and the “first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations.” The ministry said Washington's use of force to support Taiwan's independence “will only backfire, and its ‘using Taiwan to contain China’ is doomed to fail.”
Beijing urged Washington to immediately halt arms shipments to Taiwan and “stop its dangerous actions that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” The ministry said China would take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.
In the communique, issued on Aug. 17, 1982, the US pledged that its weapons sales to Taiwan “will not exceed, either in qualitative or quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China." It added that Washington intends to gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan.
However, in an internal presidential memo on the same date, former President Ronald Reagan said discussions before the signing of the communique were “premised on the clear understanding that any reduction of such arms sales depends upon peace in the Taiwan Straits.” He said that US policy on arms sales to Taiwan would depend on China's commitment to a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue.