China says firmly opposes Pentagon official's visit to Taiwan
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has reiterated Beijing’s firm opposition to any kind of official interactions and military ties between the United States and Taiwan.
Wang Wenbin made the comments as the Pentagon's top China official, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Chase, arrived in Taipei for a visit on Friday.
Wang said the Pentagon should cut off military contact with Taiwan in order to prevent another escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
"We insist that the United States put an end to official interaction with Taiwan, cut off all forms of military contact, stop interfering in the Taiwan issue and creating factors leading to another escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait," he said.
Stressing that Washington needs to respect the "One China" principle and Chinese-US agreements, the spokesman added, "We strongly oppose official contact between the United States and Taiwan. China’s position on the matter is clear and consistent.”
Chase’s visit to Taiwan is the first trip to the self-ruled island by a high-ranking Pentagon official in the past four years. In 2019, then US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck made a visit to Taipei.
Last August, the Chinese military staged war games near Taiwan to express its anger at a Taipei visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the One China policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. The US, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.
The US, which backs Taipei's secessionist president, also continues to sell weapons to the self-ruled island in defiance of Beijing and in violation of its own official policy, having turned into Taipei’s leading supplier of military equipment.
Washington's arms sale to Taiwan proceeds under the terms of the so-called Taiwan Relations Act of 2022, and there is bipartisan support for providing the island with weapons.
Back in September, the administration of US President Joe Biden approved over $1.1 billion in arms sales to Chinese Taipei, the largest in his tenure, which included up to 60 anti-ship missiles and up to 100 air-to-air missiles.
Since 2017, the US has approved more than $20 billion in weapons sales to Taipei.
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