US, China locked in dispute over Taiwan arms sale

CHINA: China and the United States were Sunday locked in an escalating dispute over US arms sales to Taiwan, with Washington rebuffing Chinese protests and insisting the deal will add stability in the Taiwan Strait. The Pentagon Friday sparked the latest challenge to China-US relations under President Barack Obama when it approved the 6.4-billion-dollar sale of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and other weaponry.

China responded furiously with a raft of reprisals, saying it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington, impose sanctions on US firms involved in the deal and warning of “severe harm” to bilateral relations.

US State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler told AFP the sale “contributes to maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, a viewed echoed by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.

“It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China,” Ma, who has overseen a marked warming in relations with China, was quoted saying by Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

But China’s Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed official with its Taiwan Affairs Office, which handles relations with the island, as rejecting that view as “totally untenable”.

“The planned US arms sale sends the wrong signal to Taiwan and will only encourage the arrogance of Taiwan independence forces and hinder the peaceful development of cross-strait ties,” the official said.

The strong Chinese response underscored a rapid degeneration in relations with the United States amid strains over trade, climate change and China’s Internet controls.

China said the row would endanger Sino-US cooperation on major international issues. The United States is seeking Beijing’s help in curbing the nuclear programmes of both Iran and China’s ally North Korea.

Beijing, Sunday, AFP