THE United States should stop right away its "dangerous act" of giving weapons to Taiwan, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Thursday. He was responding to the U.S. approval of a $11 billion arms deal for Taiwan.
Image - VCG
Guo accused the U.S. of openly announcing its plan to sell large amounts of advanced weapons to Taiwan, which he said seriously breaks the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
He said the U.S. action harms China's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, threatens peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and sends a very bad message to "Taiwan independence" groups.
"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this," he stated.
Guo added that Taiwan's separatists are trying to push their "independence" plan by building up their military, spending public money on weapons, and risking turning Taiwan into a "powder keg."
He warned that these actions will not stop the certain failure of "Taiwan independence" and will only speed up the danger of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
He also said that helping Taiwan's "independence" efforts will only backfire, and using Taiwan to contain China will never work.
Guo pointed out that the Taiwan issue is central to China's core interests and is the first red line in Sino-U.S. relations.
He emphasized that no one should underestimate China's strong determination and capability to protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He urged the U.S. to follow the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués, honor its leaders' serious promises, and immediately stop arming Taiwan.
The spokesperson also said China will take strong and decisive steps to protect its national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.