Washington urged to end arms sales to Taiwan

BEIJING - The Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday urged the United States to abide by the three Sino-US joint communiques and end arms sales to Taiwan to avoid harming bilateral military ties.

"US arms sales to Taiwan severely damage China's core interests, and our stance on this issue has been consistent and clear," ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said at a news conference.

Geng's remarks came amid reports that an amendment to a budget bill urging the US to sell F-16C/D aircraft and diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan was approved by a voice vote in the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced that President Barack Obama would make a decision by Oct 1 on whether he would sell the fighters.