US plays down China sanctions over Taiwan arms
29 October, 2020
A US official on Wednesday (Oct 28) played down China's threats to punish US companies for selling arms to Taiwan, saying that Beijing was jeopardising regional stability.
China said on Monday it could impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a defence division of Boeing that are part of a fresh sale of missiles to Taiwan worth nearly US$2 billion.
"It is not the 1st time that Beijing has threatened sanctions after US companies," said René Clarke Cooper, the very best State Department official responsible for arms sales.
"There were threats and there were provocations about this," he told reporters when asked about Chinese sanctions.
The United States is obligated under domestic law to supply weapons for self-defence to Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that's claimed by Beijing.
China lately has entered Taiwan's air defence zone with growing frequency, while propaganda films have displayed simulated attacks.
"Taiwan's security is central to stability in the Indo-Pacific region," Cooper said, adding that China has long understood that the United States could keep selling arms to Taiwan.
"The provocations that are via Beijing - the bullying behaviour, as one may assess - that's where the provocateurs lie, not with Taiwan maintaining its self-defence," he said.
"If anything, we are ensuring Taiwan isn't bullied or overcome by Beijing."
AMERICA only recognises Beijing, which considers Taiwan - where China's defeated nationalists fled in 1949 - to be a territory awaiting reunification.
But US President Donald Trump's administration has been increasingly vocal in its support of Taiwan, including through two recent visits by senior officials.
Joe Biden also recently pledged within an op-ed in World Journal, a newspaper aimed at Chinese-Americans, to "deepen" ties with Taiwan.
Biden called Taiwan a "leading democracy, major economy, technology powerhouse", and hailed the island's exceptional success in keeping out COVID-19.
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