Chinese Foreign Ministry

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday vowed to take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, after the US approved nearly $2 billion in arms sales to the island of Taiwan. 

On Saturday, the US Defense Department announced that the State Department has approved $1.988 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including the "National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)" and radar systems. 

Chinese experts said that these arms sales reveal the US' intention to economically extort Taiwan region through selling weapons, while benefiting American arms dealers which can profit from escalating tensions. They also noted that the latest arms sales package, including air defense missile systems which have been tested in Ukraine, will play a limited role in enhancing Taiwan's air defense capabilities and will not pose a threat to the military operational capabilities of the Chinese mainland. 

Commenting on the latest US arms sales to Taiwan, a spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the US arms sales to China's Taiwan region seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, especially the August 17 Communiqué of 1982. The sales seriously undermine China's sovereignty and security interests, harm China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, and send a gravely wrong message to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious protests with the US.

The US' decision to use Taiwan to contain China and help advance "Taiwan independence" agenda by arming Taiwan goes against the US leaders' commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence" and the two sides' effort to stabilize China-US relations. China urges the US to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop the dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, said the spokesperson. 

We will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, according to the spokesperson. 

We firmly oppose the US selling weapons to China's Taiwan region and this position is consistent and clear. The US has repeatedly violated its commitment of "not supporting Taiwan independence," fueling the adventurous actions of "Taiwan independence" and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, said a spokesperson of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council after US approved $2billion in arms sales to Taiwan island.

"Taiwan independence" is fundamentally incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Straits. Since taking office, the Lai Ching-te authorities have attempted to "rely on the US to seek independence" and "use military means to pursue independence," continuously escalating cross-Straits confrontation. We warn the Lai Ching-te authorities that buying weapons will not bring security; it will only make Taiwan more perilous.

Escalating tensions

The NASAMS system has been battle tested in Ukraine and represents a significant increase in air defense capabilities that the US is exporting to island of Taiwan as demand for the system surges, per Reuters. 

A US government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity that NASAMS was a new weapon for island of Taiwan, with Australia and Indonesia the only others in the region currently operating it.

The NASAMS is a missile system primarily designed to intercept cruise missiles, thus its capability to intercept ballistic missiles is very limited, so it cannot significantly enhance the island's air defense capabilities, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Therefore, the export of this system to the island of Taiwan does not change the current situation and does not pose any real threat to the operational capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Song said. 

Moreover, various actions by the PLA have demonstrated recently that its abilities to control the airspace and the waters around the island of Taiwan are continuously strengthening, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that currently, Taiwan's ground-to-air defense system is far from significant.

Some Western media outlets linked the arms sales with the PLA's joint military drills code-named Joint Sword-2024B in the Taiwan Straits on October 14. The drills serve as a stern warning to the separatist acts of "Taiwan independence" forces, after Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te made a secessionist speech on October 10 in which he claimed that the "People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan" and that they are "not subordinate to each other." 

By linking US arms sales to the PLA drill, Western media attempted to make a false narrative that the tension around the Taiwan Straits is created by the Chinese mainland. In fact, it is the US that has been escalating tensions in regions such as Ukraine and the Middle East, and benefit from the situation, Lü said, noting that the US intends to turn the Taiwan Straits into a "powder keg."

He added that the military operational capabilities demonstrated by the PLA during the recent drills in the Taiwan Straits won't be undermined by weaponry the US sold to the island of Taiwan. 

Economic extortion

US government has repeatedly violated its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence" by approving arms sales to Taiwan region. Just in September, the US State Department approved the possible sale of spare parts valued at about $228 million.

This once again proves that the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the greatest saboteur of the status quo across the Taiwan Straits are the separatist activities of "Taiwan independence" forces and the conniving support of external forces led by the US, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing after the arms sales on September 18. 

The arms sales of the US to the island of Taiwan are essentially a form of economic extortion, Lü said. He noted that it is clear to everyone, even to US politicians, that the capabilities of the PLA have reached a level where they can effectively prevent any "Taiwan independence" activities at any time. Therefore, any arms sales or so-called assistance provided to the island of Taiwan by the US no longer leave any room for "Taiwan independence."

Song said Washington, in addition to let US arms dealers earn big profit, aims to foster greater political opposition between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, ultimately achieving the goal of using the island to contain China.