China Points To Risk Of Clash With US After Taiwan Arms Package

China reiterated that US weapons sales to Taiwan raise the chances of a clash between the superpowers — underscoring its displeasure after Washington approved a deal worth up to $11 billion.

The military assistance served to “put the people in Taiwan on a powder keg, push the Taiwan Strait toward danger and inevitably increase the risk of China-US conflict and confrontation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

“Any move of arming Taiwan will face serious consequences,” he said, adding that Beijing had filed a diplomatic complaint with Washington. Guo again said his nation “will take all measures necessary to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” without elaborating.

Also Friday, China’s Defense Ministry said it would “continue to intensify training and preparations for combat.” The military would “take strong measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry added in its statement.

Thee comments come after the State Department approved one of the US’s biggest ever sales of weapons to the democracy, a package that included missiles, drones and artillery systems. The sale signals that the Trump administration wants to maintain its strong defense ties with the island even as it boosts its trade and economic relationship with China.

The new proposal, which like all of America’s foreign military sales will need Congressional approval, is expected to sail unopposed through the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees — as have all previous packages to Taiwan.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary — a stance Taipei rejects.

The US is Taiwan’s biggest military backer and it is legally required to help Taipei defend itself, though it adheres to a policy of strategic ambiguity over whether it would get involved in any fighting. Under that policy, Washington reserves the right to use force but doesn’t explicitly say whether it will intervene.