China condemns US arms sale to Taiwan
China has announced that it condemns the US approval of an approximately $2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, a territory with which it has a sovereignty dispute, which includes a surface-to-air missile system and radar equipment.
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Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang stated in a statement on the matter that the arms sale to Taiwan violates the "one China" principle and the Three Joint Communiqués that form the foundation of China-US relations, and sends a wrong message to Taiwan's pro-independence forces.
Expressing that they condemn the Washington administration's approval of the arms sale to Taiwan, Spokesperson Zhang said, "A few pieces of American weapons can neither close the military power gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, nor stop the historical trend toward China's reunification."
Zhang argued that by increasing its efforts to arm Taiwan, the US is both betraying its commitment not to sell arms to Taiwan in the long term and pushing Taiwan to the brink of a military conflict by encouraging separatist forces that advocate for Taiwan's independence.
The spokesperson emphasized that the Chinese military will improve its combat readiness, "comprehensively increase its capacity to fight and win, and resolutely defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
MISSILE AND RADAR SYSTEMS
The US Department of State announced on October 26 that it had approved the sale of the "National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System" (NASAMS) and "AN/TPS-77" and "AN/TPS-78" radar systems to Taiwan.
The statement noted that $1 billion 160 million would be paid for the missiles and $828 million for the radar systems.
In a statement from the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, the sale was welcomed, and it was emphasized that "the NASAMS system, which has been successfully tested on the battlefield in Ukraine, will help increase the air defense capacity of the Taiwanese military."
SANCTIONS MAY BE IMPOSED ON US COMPANIES
China can impose sanctions on the companies that manufacture the weapon systems in question. The Beijing administration had previously decided to impose sanctions on numerous American defense industry companies linked to arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, has had de facto independence since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded.
The separation that emerged after the civil war between mainland China and Taiwan still continues. Emphasizing the "one China" principle, Beijing opposes countries that recognize it from establishing official relations with Taiwan and selling arms to Taiwan.