China asks US to revoke arms sales plan to Taiwan

China on Monday firmly opposed US arms sales to Taiwan and urged the United States to revoke the arms sales plan, days after the State Department approved a sale of up to USD 108 million worth of military-technical support to Taipei.

This latest deal is the US' fourth arms sale to the island of Taiwan in 2022 and the fifth under the Biden administration, according to Chinese state media.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the US arms sales to China's Taiwan region seriously violate the One-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, particularly the August 17 communique, and gravely undermine China's sovereignty and security interests.

He added that this deal severely harms China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side," Wang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

China urges the US side to abide by the One-China principle and the China-US joint communique, revoke the arms sales plan to Taiwan, and stop arms sales to and military ties with Taiwan, Wang said.

"China will continue to take resolute and strong measures to firmly defend its sovereignty and security interests," he added.

Last week, the Pentagon informed that the United States has approved the potential sale of military-technical assistance to Taiwan worth an estimated USD 108 million.

The US Defence Department said this proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.

According to the Pentagon, the proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, economic and progress in the region.

China, which regards Taiwan as its province despite decades of separate governance, has earlier strongly opposed military cooperation between Washington and Taipei.

This defence agreement between the US and Taiwan come a few days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the One-China principle is what underpins stability across the Taiwan Strait and warned of "ferocious storms" across the region if the principle is "arbitrarily challenged or even sabotaged."

Wang made the remarks when asked about the root cause of the current tensions across the Taiwan Strait as he made a policy speech at the ASEAN Secretariat, Xinhua news agency reported.

Wang said history and practice have repeatedly proved that when the One-China principle is fully recognized and thoroughly followed, the Taiwan Strait would remain calm and the two sides enjoy peaceful development. However, when the One-China principle is arbitrarily challenged or even sabotaged, there would be dark clouds or even ferocious storms across the Taiwan Strait.

(ANI)