US approves sale of four armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Taiwan
Beijing urges Washington to cancel plans, says move is severe violation of "one China" principle
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US airmen preparing an MQ-9 Reaper drone before it left on a mission, at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan in 2016. The US' agreement to sell such drones to Taiwan comes on the heel of several other major arms packages to the island announced in recent weeks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON/BEIJING • The Uni-ted States has agreed to sell four armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Taiwan, the State Department announced on Tuesday, helping to boost the island's defences as China steps up its threats.
The US$600 million (S$816 million) sale aids Taiwan's "continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability", the State Department said.
It will also assist in maintaining political stability and the military balance in the region, the department said in a statement.
The sale covers four drones, ground stations, and associated surveillance and communications equipment, but not the bombs or missiles usually associated with it.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called the latest arms sale a "severe violation" of the "one China" principle and urged the US to "immediately cancel its arms sale plans to avoid further damaging China-US relations".
"It grossly interferes in China's domestic affairs and gravely undermines China's sovereignty and security interests," Mr Wang told a daily briefing in Beijing yesterday.
He vowed China would "take legitimate and necessary responses in the light of the changing developments" without elaborating.
Chinese military spokesman Ren Guoqiang on Oct 27 voiced firm opposition to an earlier US arms sale to Taiwan, urging the United States to immediately stop military contact with and arms sales to the island. China has lodged solemn representations with the US, he added.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army has the resolve, the confidence and the ability to defeat foreign interference and separatist attempts for "Taiwan independence" in any form, the spokesman said, stressing that the Chinese military will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and continue to advance national reunification.
The latest drones deal comes on the heel of several other major arms packages to Taiwan announced in recent weeks worth US$4.2 billion.
In 2016, Taiwan elected President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as an already sovereign state and not part of "one China".
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$816m
Value of the sale, which aids Taiwan's "continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability", according to the US State Department.
China cut off official communication and piled on economic, military and diplomatic pressure in response, although Ms Tsai was reelected in a landslide in January.
Chinese jets have in recent months begun crossing into Taiwan's defence zone at an unprecedented rate.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG, XINHUA
