By Yang Sheng
The US has announced plans for a new round of arms sales to arm the secessionist Taiwan authorities with offensive Harpoon missiles that can attack the Chinese mainland, shortly after the Chinese central government announced on Monday sanctions against US military industrial firms and individuals involved in the arms sales to Taiwan.
Chinese mainland experts warned that although these missiles won’t be able to threaten the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) effectively, this is a greater provocation than in the past, as the weapons are not for self-defense but can reach the coastal regions of the mainland.
China urged the US to stop the relevant arms sales and military connections with the island, and cancel relevant arms sales plans to prevent further damage to China-US relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a routine press conference on Tuesday, noting that “China will take legitimate and necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests with firm determination.”
Whether the sanctions can effectively stop the US move or not, the mainland must show its determination to safeguard its own sovereignty and deter other firms and other countries from following the US in challenging China’s sovereignty, they said. For the Taiwan secessionist authority, more arms sales would not bring safety, but will make it get closer to the brink of war, experts said.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement released on Tuesday that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan wants to arm themselves to resist the reunification and realize secessionism, but will only “damage the cross-Straits peace and stability, and bring a bigger disaster to the people of Taiwan.”
According to the AP, the Trump administration on Monday (US time) notified the US Congress of plans for a $2.37 billion sale of Harpoon missile systems to Taiwan just hours after the Chinese mainland announced sanctions against US defense contractors, including Boeing, the lead contractor on the Harpoon deal, as well as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and other individuals and entities that are involved in arms sales to the island.
The US arms sales to Taiwan violated the three joint communiques that China and the US signed, especially the one signed on August 17, 1982, Wang said.
According to the 1982 communiqué, the US government states that it “does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms… and that it intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.”
“The move has interfered in China’s internal affairs, seriously damaged China’s sovereignty and security interests, and sent wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, and has seriously harmed China-US relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits,”Wang noted.
Harpoon missiles are capable of striking ships and land targets. Boeing says the missile uses GPS-aided inertial navigation and delivers a 500-pound blast warhead. It can target coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft, ships in port, and port and industrial facilities, the AP reported.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
