Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: June13,2022
By staff writer
China condemned US arms sale to Taiwan in a bid by the US administration to make Taiwan independent. The warning was delivered by Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe when he met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 19th AShangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Friday 10. Wei made it clear that China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be defended by the People’s Liberation Army in case anyone tries to alienate Taiwan from mainland China.
The meeting between Wei and Austin marked was the first time the two defense officials held talks in person. US has always maintained double standards by saying that it recognizes the One-China Principle yet behind China’s back supplies arms to Taiwan in preparation for a proxy war with China. Last week, On the US administration said it had sold arms to Taiwan worth $ 120 million, mainly comprising spare ship parts and others military hardware.
China strongly condemned US arms sales to Taiwan which violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, consequently damaging China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
During the meeting, both sides agreed that the two militaries should honor and realize the important consensuses reached by President Xi Jinping and President Biden, maintain high-level strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, contain divergences and avoid turning them into confrontations or conflicts, according to a news release from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.
China is willing to establish a “sound, stable great-power relationship” with the US and that should be a shared goal for both sides, Wei said. The Chinese defence minister noted that stable military-to-military relations are crucial to bilateral relations and the two militaries should avoid confrontation and conflict.
