Mainland China lashes out at US$2 billion American arms package for Taiwan

Beijing lashed out against the latest US arms sale to Taiwan and pledged to take countermeasures to defend its sovereignty.

The Pentagon said on Friday that it has approved the sales of nearly US$2 billion, including the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, an advanced defensive system valued at almost US$1.2 billion. It will be the first time the weapons, which have been used on the battlefield in Ukraine, have been supplied to Taiwan.

The deal also includes radar systems worth an estimated US$828 million.

China “has lodged serious protests with the US”, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, pledging “resolute countermeasures and to take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.

It added: “The sales seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, harm China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and send a gravely wrong message to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never renounced the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. The United States, in common with most countries, does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to providing it with arms to defend itself.

Beijing has ramped up military drills in the Taiwan Strait since the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te took office in May and made a series of comments that Beijing sees as promoting independence.