China warns US after Biden administration approves arms sale to Taiwan

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Beijing issued a warning on Wednesday against the US after the Biden administration approved a $750 million arms deal with Taiwan.
• Beijing said that the US was interfering and violated its “one-China policy.”
• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Washington won’t confront China but would not be intimidated.

Following the US State Department grant of its first arms sale to Taiwan, Beijing has issued a warning against the Biden administration, saying that it breached the “one-China policy” in relation to the US-China relations.

Based on reports published Wednesday, the sale, which costs around $750 million (£538,691 million), was composed of 40 self-propelled howitzers produced by BAE Systems and other military equipment.

Speaking with CNN, a US State Department representative said: “If concluded, this proposed sale will contribute to the modernisation of Taiwan’s howitzer fleet, strengthening its self-defence capabilities to meet current and future threats.”

The state department also said that the deal “serves US national, economic and security interests” and “will help improve the security of the recipient [Taiwan] and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, economic and progress in the region”.

In response to the occasion, the Chinese embassy said on Thursday that the US was meddling in its “internal affairs and undermines China’s sovereignty and security interests by selling arms to the Taiwan region.” It also gave a “countermeasures” warning for violating the “one-China principle and provisions of the three China-US joint communiques.”

The spokesperson also said that the Chinese government was “firmly opposed” to the proposed deal because it “sends wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and seriously damages Sino-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

“China will resolutely take proper and necessary countermeasures in accordance with the development of the situation,” the statement continued.

The US Congress would have a month to go through the proposed arm deal, which is anticipated to gain bipartisan support due to the growing tensions between the US and China, and its commitment to Taiwan.

In 1949, Taiwan had broken away from the Chinese mainland and the Communist Party of China. In recent years, though, Beijing is again claiming that Taiwan is part of China.

Last May, China asked the White House to reconsider its previous deal when former President Donald Trump authorized a $600 million (£430,620) drone sale in November. At the time, Beijing also issued a pertinent warning.

In his trip to Taiwan last month, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said that the US would not “seek confrontation” with China, but noted that they would not flinch when their interests “are threatened.”

“We’re working with Taiwan to increase its own capabilities and to increase its readiness to deter threats and coercion… Upholding our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and consistent with our one-China policy,” he said.

Source: MSN.com