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China’s defense ministry has warned the United States against going further down a “wrong and dangerous” path after Washington approved a new military aid package for Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).
The US must stop all forms of “military collusion” with Taiwan, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei in a statement on Tuesday a after the US announced an additional $345-million military aid package for the self-ruled island.
“The Taiwan issue concerns China’s core interests and is a red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations,” the statement added.
The package was unveiled on Friday as part of up to $1 billion worth of weapons aid authorized by Congress for Taiwan in the 2023 budget.The statement further emphasized that China’s People’s Liberation Army is closely monitoring the situation in the Taiwan Strait and is always on high alert.
China has sovereignty over Taipei. The US recognizes that sovereignty but regularly violates its own stated policy. The island has become a major bone of contention between Beijing and Washington.
China strongly opposes other countries pursuing official and diplomatic ties with Taipei and has consistently warned the US and other states against engaging with the self-proclaimed government on the island.
Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan by law but remains the island’s largest weapons supplier and a staunch supporter of Taiwan’s secessionist President Tsai Ing-wen.
In a statement on Saturday, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office blamed the US for turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the arms aid was announced for the island.
“No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the… Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many US weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem, or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” the statement read.
