![China has criticised US plans to sell advanced weapons - including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to Taiwan [File: Erik De Castro/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2016-04-14T120000Z_139385148_D1AESYGYVMAA_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHCHINASEA-PHILIPPINES-CARTER.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
China says US move sends ‘a very wrong signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwanese independence’.
Beijing has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a de facto sovereign nation and not part of China.
China has threatened to “make legitimate and necessary responses” after the United States approved the potential sale of $1.8bn worth of advanced weapons systems to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday said the US – in approving the arms sale – was violating agreements signed in the 1970s that established diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The weapons sale includes 135 air-to-ground missiles that Taiwan’s defence ministry said would build its combat capabilities amid increasing threats by China to annex the territory by force if necessary.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said at a regular news briefing that The US move is “sending a very wrong signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence, and seriously damages China-US relations”,
Zhao said China would “make a legitimate and necessary response depending [on] how the situation evolves”.
Beijing has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a de facto sovereign nation and not part of the “One China” policy.
0
0
