The MND: Several pieces of US weaponry will not close the cross-strait military power gap

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular news conference on Thursday.

Question: It is reported that the US Department of Defense recently approved arms sales worth US$1,988 million to Taiwan, including the surface-to-air missile system and radar system. What is your comment on that?

Zhang Xiaogang: The US arms sales to China's Taiwan region severely violate the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués. This move seriously undermines China's sovereignty and security interests, disrupts China-US relations, undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends very wrong signals to the"Taiwan independence"separatist forces. We strongly condemn and firmly oppose it and have lodged solemn representations to the US side.

The US has reneged on its own promise and is intensifying efforts to arm Taiwan, emboldening the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and pushing Taiwan closer toward the abyss of military conflict. The DPP authorities purchased weapons to solicit US support, allowing the US to exploit the hard-earned money of the people in Taiwan to feed its military-industrial complex. Records have proven time and again that the "Taiwan independence" separatists and foreign interference are the source of chaos that undermine the status quo, cause cross-strait crisis, and disrupt regional stability.

The Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. China urges the US to fully recognize the severe consequences of arming Taiwan which would surely backfire, and not to go further down the wrong path. Several pieces of US weaponry will not close the cross-strait military power gap, still less stop the historical trend of China's reunification. The PLA will continuously improve its combat readiness, comprehensively enhance the military capability to fight and win, and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.