US threatening to cross red line of bilateral ties

In a sign that it will not hesitate to make more moves that could worsen the already highly strained Sino-US relations, the Donald Trump administration has approved the sale of spare parts for F-16 fighter jets and other military aircraft worth up to $330 million to Taiwan.

The move comes four days after the US sanctioned the People's Liberation Army's Equipment Development Department and its director for purchasing Russian fighter jets and missile systems, which evoked sharp protests from Beijing and justifiably so because Washington has been blatantly violating the basic norms of international relations.

The intensity, pace and scale at which Washington has been trying to provoke Beijing - from trade to the South China Sea to Taiwan - expose the confrontational strategy of the Trump administration. Such provocations, however, conform to the 2018 US National Security Strategy report that identified China as a strategic competitor that must be confronted.