BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the U.S. government's approval of a new round of arms sales to Taiwan, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.
China will take resolute and strong measures to firmly defend its own sovereignty and security interests, Mao told a regular press briefing.
The U.S. arms sales to China's Taiwan region are a blatant violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique, Mao said.
The arms sales gravely undermine China's sovereignty and security interests, severely harm China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and send a gravely wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, Mao said.
"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns them. We will take resolute and strong measures to firmly defend our own sovereignty and security interests," Mao said.
Mao said that for some time, the U.S. has repeatedly trampled on international law and basic norms in international relations and breached the U.S. leader's political commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence."
The U.S. side keeps distorting, fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, deliberately makes provocations on the Taiwan question, and supports and connives at "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. The U.S. has an unshirkable responsibility for causing tensions to rise in the Taiwan Strait, said Mao.
Mao said China urges the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, stop arms sales to Taiwan and military contact with Taiwan, stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, stop seeking political manipulation with Taiwan-related issues, stop using Taiwan to contain China, and avoid going further down the wrong and dangerous path.
"I want to once again make it clear to the U.S. side that Taiwan is China's Taiwan. The Taiwan question brooks no external interference. No individual or force can halt the historic process of China's complete reunification," Mao said. ■