China: US military aid to Taiwan will not deter its will to unify the island

China has accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after Washington announced a fresh $345 million package of weapons for Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). 

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late on Saturday opposing the military aid to the self-governed island Taiwan. 

“No matter how much of the ordinary people's taxpayer money the... Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many US weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem, or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” the statement read.

“Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait," it added

Washington announced the new weapons package for Chinese Taipei on Friday, at a time when the US has been attempting to ameliorate its deteriorated relationship with Beijing.

For this package, Washington has for the first time used what is known as Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), allowing the US to pull the weapons and other stocks directly from the inventories of the US Department of Defense (DoD).

Prior to this, PDA, which accelerates the process of weapons transfers, was used only for weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

The latest $345 million package includes "man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles" which will be used in targeting the Chinese mainland.

It also includes "education and training" for the locals, an extremely detrimental move aimed at planting the seed of secessionism in the minds of the young so as to turn them into cannon fodder for the secessionists in power.

US troops in Taiwan

Taiwanese media have reported that the US has significantly increased its military presence on the island.

In late May, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers that a “significant” package of weapons, munitions, and equipment would be coming “soon” for Taiwan, part of the $1 billion worth of weapons the US Congress had authorized in PDA for Taipei.

Also, Taipei’s earlier purchase of weapons from the United States had included $332.2 million of 30mm ammunition and related equipment, as well as $108 million worth of logistical military material.

Meanwhile, the state-run China Daily newspaper wrote in an editorial on Saturday that Washington is fanning the flames of war with arms sales to Taiwan.

The freshly announced weapons package shows Washington is apparently attempting to export war to the Asia-Pacific as part of its containment strategy toward China, it said.

It said the sales of weapons to Taipei betrays the recent promises from senior US officials not to take any anti-Beijing stances and show support for the secessionist movement on the island.

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Ties between Washington and Beijing remain strained over a range of issues, including the US' non-adherence to the internationally-confirmed “One China” principle, trade wars, territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, and US President Joe Biden’s restrictions on semiconductor chip exports, among other issues.

Beijing describes the issue of Chinese Taipei as the most sensitive and important matter in its relations with the US, and the topic remains a constant source of friction between the two world powers.

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