US OK’s arms sale to Taiwan
China denies US ship HK port visit
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (Agencies): The US State Department has approved the sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16 fighter planes and other military aircraft worth up to $330 million, prompting China to warn on Tuesday that the move jeopardized Sino-US cooperation.
US military sales to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, is an irritant in the relations between the world’s two largest economies. Taiwan would still need to finalize details of the sale with US companies.
“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security and defensive capability of the recipient, which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement issued on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that US arms sales to Taiwan were a serious breech of international law and harmed Chinese sovereignty and security interests.
China strongly opposes the planned arms sales and has already lodged “stern representations” with the United States, he told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
China urges the United States to withdraw the planned sale and stop military contacts with Taiwan, to avoid serious harm to both Sino-US cooperation in major areas, and peace and stability in the Taiwan strait, Geng added.
China’s Defense Ministry, in a separate statement, also condemned the planned sale, adding that the Chinese military had a “firm and unshakable” resolve to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China is deeply suspicious of US intentions toward Taiwan, which is equipped with mostly US-made weaponry and wants Washington to sell it more advanced equipment, including new fighter jets.
In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwan’s Presidential Office thanked the United States for its support and said the island would continue to “stay in close communication and cooperation” with Washington for issues including security.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday he was seeking a way ahead for military ties with China after Beijing postponed military talks in protest at last week’s US decision to impose sanctions over China’s purchase of Russian weaponry.
China has denied a request for a US warship to visit Hong Kong, the US consulate in the Chinese city said on Tuesday, amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington over trade and a US decision to sanction the Asian nation’s military.
The amphibious assault ship Wasp had been due to make a port call in the former British colony of Hong Kong in October, diplomatic sources said.
“The Chinese Government did not approve a request for a US port visit to Hong Kong by the USS Wasp,” a consulate spokeswoman said.
China hopes that Britain can stand by its position of not taking sides in the South China Sea and earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese government’s top diplomat told Britain’s foreign minister.
Beijing expressed anger after a British Royal Navy warship sailed close to islands claimed by China in the South China Sea late last month, saying Britain was engaged in “provocation” and that it had lodged a strong complaint.