China : No Arms to Taiwan     10/23 06:16

   China has vowed to retaliate if the U.S. proceeds with the sale of advanced 
weaponry to Taiwan worth more than a billion dollars.

   BEIJING (AP) -- China has vowed to retaliate if the U.S. proceeds with the 
sale of advanced weaponry to Taiwan worth more than a billion dollars.

   The statement from China's defense ministry gave no specifics, but the 
development marks a further deterioration in ties between Beijing and 
Washington that have hit their lowest ebb in decades.

   The statement issued late Thursday night demanded the cancellation of the 
sale and an end to all interactions between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries 
in order to "avoid serious repercussions for relations between China and the 
U.S. and their armed forces and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

   Failure to do so would "compel the Chinese side to fight back resolutely," 
the statement said.

   The State Department on Wednesday announced it had greenlighted the sale of 
135 precision land attack missiles, associated equipment and training to Taiwan 
to improve its defense capabilities. The package is worth just over a billion 
dollars, it said in a statement. The missiles are made by Boeing.

   China regards Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if 
necessary and Washington maintains only unofficial relations with Taipei in 
deference to Beijing. However, U.S. law requires the government to ensure 
Taiwan can maintain a credible defense and recent years have seen an increase 
in both the quality and quantity of defensive arms sold to the island.

   Those come as China has increased military activity around Taiwan in what it 
calls a deliberate attempt to force political concessions from the 
pro-independence administration of President Tsai Ing-wen. The increase in 
Chinese incursions into Taiwanese airspace and military exercises seen as 
targeting U.S. and Taiwanese assets add to Beijing's years-long campaign of 
exerting economic and diplomatic pressure on the island, which has left it with 
just 15 formal diplomatic allies.

   In a separate statement issued late Thursday, the Chinese Cabinet's Taiwan 
Affairs Office demanded Tsai's Democratic People's Party end its "plotting" 
with the U.S. to "refuse unification through arms."

   "This can only seriously undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait 
and bring down a terrible disaster on the Taiwanese people," the statement said.