BEIJING, December 18. /TASS/. China has strongly protested the US decision to approve a record $11 billion sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan and warned that it will take firm retaliatory measures, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a briefing.
"The US side has announced a large-scale plan to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan, which seriously violates the One China principle and provisions of three joint communiques. It sends a serious false signal to separatist forces advocating 'Taiwan’s independence.' China firmly opposes it and strongly condemns it," the diplomat said.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized that Taiwanese authorities were seeking to rely on force for independence, turning the island into a "powder keg" and squandering the population’s resources. He warned Washington that attempts to restrain China through Taiwan were doomed to failure and would only lead to the US "burning itself in its own fire."
The statement followed reports that the US State Department had approved a potential arms and military equipment package for Taiwan valued at $11 billion, making it one of the largest such deals in history.
Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949, when remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. According to Beijing, supported by most countries including Russia, Taiwan is part of the PRC. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established them with China. While adhering to the One China policy, Washington continues to maintain unofficial ties with Taipei and supply the island with weapons. China estimates that US military aid to Taiwan has exceeded $70 billion over the past several years.