US blasted for military gear sales to Taiwan

China urged the United States on Tuesday to immediately cancel its planned military equipment sale to Taiwan and vowed to take legitimate and necessary countermeasures according to how the situation developed.

The US State Department announced on Monday the approval of a $280 million sale of a Field Information Communications System to Taiwan, the sixth military equipment sale this year, as well as the 11th under US President Donald Trump's administration. The last sale took place in November despite China's announcement it would impose sanctions on US enterprises, individuals and entities involved in an arms deal in October.

China firmly opposes the communications system sale, which violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, especially the August 17 communique, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news conference.

It interferes in China's internal affairs and undermines the country's sovereignty and security interests, and in addition sends wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatists, Hua said.

China urges the US to stop arms and military equipment sales to Taiwan and to cut military ties with the island in order to avoid further damage to China-US relations and cross-Straits peace and stability, she said.

Taiwan authorities said on Tuesday that "the sale showed Washington was honoring its commitment to help strengthen the island's defenses".

Noting that Taiwan is not a country but an inseparable part of Chinese territory, Hua said that the island should be able to understand "whether the US is helping them or doing no good to them".

She stressed that the Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and its core interests.

"No one should underestimate China's firm resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity", she said, warning the Taiwan authority that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end and any attempt to solicit foreign support and resort to force against reunification will not succeed.

Also on Tuesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have constantly purchased arms from the US with money that could be used to improve people's livelihoods, and such a practice is doomed to fail.