Stop military aid to Taiwan, says China

– China vowed yesterday it will “never compromise” on Taiwan and told the United States to stop providing military aid, days ahead of a crucial election on the self-ruled island.

China claims Taiwan, which holds elections on Saturday, as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day.

The election outcome will impact the future of Taiwan’s relations with an increasingly assertive China.

In their first defence talks of the year, held at the Pentagon on Monday and Tuesday, Chinese officials demanded that Washington “stop arming Taiwan, and oppose Taiwan’s ‘independence’”, according to a Chinese defence ministry readout.

China also accused Taiwan’s ruling party of “creating panic” after the island’s authorities issued a national emergency alert over a satellite launch by Beijing.

Phones across Taiwan blared with a “presidential alert” on Tuesday afternoon, around the time Beijing announced the successful launch of its Einstein Probe satellite which, it says, will gather astronomical data.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning accused Taiwan’s ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party, of “creating panic”.

Michael Chase, the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, restated the US’ commitment to its “One China” policy, which emphasises it does not support Taiwanese independence.

Washington has provided Taiwan with military aid under an assistance programme aimed at foreign governments.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed in November 2023 to restart military talks. Relations between Beijing and Washington nosedived in recent years, but they described their November meeting as a success.

However key sources of friction remain, including the status of Taiwan and the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.

In the latest defence talks, the two sides also discussed the crucial waterway, where the two powers last week held rival drills, and which has seen a spate of standoffs between Beijing and Manila in recent months.

China frequently deploys boats to patrol the South China Sea and has built artificial islands that it has militarised.

Officials urged their US counterparts to stop their “provocative actions” in the waterway.

“The US should fully understand the causes of maritime and air security issues, strictly rein in its troops and stop the hype,” a government statement read.

Washington asserted the “importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation”. –