China firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan: defense spokesperson

BEIJING -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Friday urged the United States to revoke its plan to sell arms to China's Taiwan region, and to cease arming the region with weapons in any form.

Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media query on the US Department of Defense's recent approval of arms sales worth approximately 300 million US dollars to Taiwan.

The US arms sales to China's Taiwan region have severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, particularly the August 17 Communique, Zhang said.

The move has seriously undermined China's sovereignty and security, and posed a grave threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the US arms sales to China's Taiwan region, he added.

Zhang said that the Taiwan question is the first red line that shall not be crossed in China-US relations, and that supporting "Taiwan independence" separatist forces will only escalate tension in the region, push Taiwan into a dangerous situation, and ultimately harm the United States itself.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has intensified military training and enhanced combat preparedness to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang said.