China has slammed the latest round of United States arms sales to Taiwan, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to assert its sovereignty over the self-ruled island it claims as its own.
The US State Department on Friday approved a $2bn arms sale package for Taiwan, including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar as part of its efforts to counter China’s growing military power in the Asia Pacific.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has made countering China’s increasing military and economic “assertiveness” in the region a key pillar of its foreign policy. It has also sought to shore up military alliances in the region while maintaining trade restrictions on Beijing.
The deal awaits approval by Congress. The equipment will be derived from US Air Force supplies.
Taipei’s Defence Ministry on Saturday expressed its “sincere gratitude” for the sale, saying it would “help the military continue to improve its defence resilience and jointly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry hit back in a statement late on Saturday, saying the latest arms package “seriously violates China’s sovereignty and security interests, seriously damages China-US relations, and endangers peace and stability” in the strait.
“China strongly condemns and firmly opposes it, and has lodged solemn representations with the US,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The ministry added that Beijing would “take all necessary measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.
China, which has dubbed sovereignty in Taiwan a “red line” not to be crossed, has refused to rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Beijing maintains a near-daily presence of fighter jets, drones and warships around the democratic island, and held large-scale war games in its vicinity this month.
Earlier this month, Taiwan detected a record 153 Chinese aircraft in one day.
The US is Taipei’s key partner and provider of weapons despite having no official diplomatic ties with the democratic island.
Beijing has regularly expressed anger at international support for Taipei and accused Washington of meddling in its affairs. China says the US is deviating from its “One China” policy, under which Washington does not openly support Taiwan’s independence.
In September, Beijing sanctioned US defence companies in retaliation for Washington’s approval of the sale of military equipment to Taiwan.
