China Demands US Stop Selling Weapons To Taiwan

UNSPLASH/Philip ILLUSTRATION Andrejevic

JAKARTA - China demands that the United States immediately stop selling weapons to Laiwan and also military contact with the island nation.

"We urge the US to fully pay attention to the high sensitivity of Taiwan's problems and the complexity and severity of the current situation in the Taiwan Strait," said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense at a press conference in Beijing as reported by ANTARA, Friday, April 28.

This statement was made ahead of the visit of a US defense business group to Taiwan next week to discuss bilateral defense cooperation such as joint production of drones and ammunition.

Tan paints the problem of Laiwan as "China's internal affairs and forbids foreign interference."

Representatives from 25 US defense contractors will arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday to attend an industrial forum and meet Taiwanese officials, Channel NewsAsia (CAN) television channel said on Thursday, citing an anomim military source.

"This American military industry group has always been eager to sell ammunition, spark conflict, and chaos, and reap enormous profits from around the world," Tan was quoted as saying by China Military Online.

He called the move of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan a rather despicable, like inviting a cat closer to a bowl of food that only brought major disasters to the residents of Laiwan.

Tan insists "no one or any force can destabilize the strong determination of the Chinese people in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity."

China considers Taiwan as part of its territory.

Tan also called on Washington to comply with the provisions of China-US joint three communiques, namely being careful in dealing with Taiwan issues, refraining from interfering in Taiwan issues, and ending arms sales to Taiwan as well as military contacts with the island.

"The Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) troops will carefully observe the situation in the Taiwan Strait, ready at all times," Tan continued.

He also stated that China would take appropriate steps in line with the law in dealing with all forms of Setiawan separatism and foreign interference.