NEWS//Arms for Taiwan
[July 8, 2019] China is upset that the U.S. State Department has approved selling Taiwan weapons worth $2.22 billion.
China: The arms deal is foolish
According to China Daily, a voice for China's government, the move
has seriously violated the international law, the basic norms of international relations, the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
is a flagrant interference in China’s domestic affairs that harms China’s sovereignty and security interests, poisons the development of military relations between China and the U.S., and gravely undermines the cross-strait relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
reneges on promises the U.S. in the 1982 August 17 Communique.
is an attempt by the United States to contain China by playing the "Taiwan card" to play off Taiwan against China.
offers Taiwan no protection if China decides to intervene militarily. The arms deal is a “fool’s decision” because the price is high and the weapons purchased are not able to secure Taiwan at all.
China: The arms deal is interference
Bloomberg reports that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang characterized the sale as "a gross interference in China’s internal affairs [that] harms China’s sovereignty and security interests…. We deplore and firmly oppose that. [The U.S. must] “stop military contact with Taiwan lest it should further harm the bilateral relations and peace and stability across the straits.”
China considers self-governing Taiwan part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force, if necessary. It says U.S. arms sales to the island constitute both interference in its internal affairs and a betrayal of earlier commitments made by Washington to Beijing.
U.S.: The arms deal in aligned with U.S. interests
Taiwan split from China in 1949, and has no formal diplomatic ties with the U.S. Nonetheless, U.S. law requires Washington to take threats to the island seriously and to "make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability."
Sources: China Daily, Bloomberg, CBS News, Special Broadcasting System (Australia)