ISTANBUL

China on Friday protested the Trump administration’s first potential arms sale to Taiwan, saying the move infringes on its sovereignty and violates the one-China principle.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing that the sale “grossly violates one-China principle, three China-US communiques.”

“China deplores and opposes this,” he added.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said late Thursday that the State Department had approved a possible foreign military sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US. The package, valued at an estimated $330 million, includes non-standard spare and repair parts and related equipment for Taiwan’s F-16 and C-130 aircraft.

The agency said the proposed sale “will improve the recipient’s capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness.”

According to the announcement, the sale covers non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables, accessories, and repair-and-return support for F-16 and C-130 military planes, along with Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft. Engineering, technical, and logistics support from the US government and contractors is also included.

It is the first such sale during the second term of US President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January.

Arms sale after Trump-Xi summit

Lin condemned the decision, saying it “infringes upon sovereignty of China and sends wrong signal.”
“Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests and is red line that cannot be crossed in the China-US relations,” he said, urging Washington to “stop aiding separatist forces and take concrete in the interests China-US relations.”

“China will do what is necessary to defend China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” he added.

The arms package was announced two weeks after Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Trump later said Taiwan “did not come up for discussion” with Xi.

Separately, China’s first electromagnetic catapult-equipped Type 076 amphibious assault ship began its maiden sea trials on Friday, state media reported. The first hull, Sichuan, departed from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai.

According to the Beijing-based Global Times, the new-generation assault ship has a “full-load displacement of over 40,000 tons.”

“It features a dual-island superstructure and a full-length flight deck ... adopts electromagnetic catapult and arrestment technologies, and can carry fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, amphibious equipment and other assets,” the outlet said.