Beijing threatens response to US deal
China threatened ‘‘countermeasures’’ yesterday after the US approved a potential US$1.1 billion (NZ$1.8 billion) arms sale to Taiwan that will boost the selfruled island’s ability to hit targets from afar and monitor incoming strikes.
The significant package – which includes 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles – would help Taiwan ‘‘modernise its armed forces’’ and ‘‘maintain a credible defensive capability’’, according to a State Department spokesman. It is the largest such assistance approved under President Joe Biden.
But the move has angered Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory even though it has never governed there. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said it ‘‘severely jeopardises China-us relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait’’.
‘‘China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary countermeasures in light of the development of the situation,’’ he added.
Taiwanese Presidential Office spokesman Chang Tun-han thanked the US for its support.
‘‘This arms sale will not only help our soldiers fight against grey zone coercion, it will also enhance the island’s early warning capabilities against longrange ballistic missiles,’’ he said.
The defence ministry added that China’s ‘‘provocative’’ activities represent a serious threat and that the arms sale would help it face China’s military pressure.
The announcement follows China’s aggressive military drills around Taiwan last month, when it said it had fired ballistic missiles over the capital Taipei, in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. Pelosi was the highest-ranking US official to travel to Taipei in years.
Since then, China has continued its drills, including regularly breaching the median line of the Taiwan Strait – an unofficial barrier between the two sides – which analysts say is an attempt to rewrite the status quo. Two Chinese fighter jets crossed the line again yesterday.
A few days earlier, Taiwanese forces shot down a suspected Chinese drone that entered its airspace amid a sudden spate of incursions that have unnerved the island.
‘‘As the PRC continues to increase pressure on Taiwan – including through heightened military air and maritime presence around Taiwan – and engages in attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, we’re providing Taiwan with what it needs to maintain its selfdefence capabilities,’’ Laura Rosenberger, the White House senior director for China and Taiwan, said in a statement.
The arms sale is not believed to offer new capabilities to Taiwan.
It includes Sidewinder missiles, which can be used for air-to-air and surface-attack missions, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which could be used to track and sink incoming vessels if China launches an assault by water.
The biggest piece of the package is support to maintain and upgrade Taiwan’s surveillance radar system, which provides an early warning of any incoming attack.
The package must still be reviewed by Congress before it can go ahead, but it is not expected to face opposition, with strong bipartisan support for Taiwan.