Washington pressed to cancel new arms transactions with Taiwan

Beijing on Tuesday called on Washington to immediately withdraw its latest planned arms sales to Taiwan and cease military contacts with the island to avoid more damage to Sino-US relations and stability across the Straits.

"The sales severely violate international law and basic norms governing international relations, and severely violate the one-China principle as well as the principles of the three China-US joint communiques," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday, noting that China has lodged stern representations with the US.

The US State Department approved the sales to Taiwan of spare parts and related support for F-16 fighters and other military aircraft, with an estimated cost of $330 million, the US Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Tuesday.