China's top arms control official yesterday warned the US against selling the sophisticated AEGIS weapons system to Taiwan or including the country in a regional missile defense system.
China is worried the AEGIS satellite anti-missile system might be plugged into larger US military systems and turn Taiwan into a quasi-alliance partner, said Sha Zukang (
"Of the arms they have proposed to sell to Taiwan, the AEGIS is the worst," Sha, who has 16 years of experience in arms controls talks, said at a briefing in Beijing. "It's a very, very serious issue."
Sha's warning came just weeks before annual US-Taiwan arms talks at which Taiwan is expected to unveil a shopping list of sophisticated weapons, including AEGIS-equipped destroyers.
AEGIS is a total weapons system that is centered around a powerful radar that can track more than 100 targets at a time and is capable of detecting and wiping out missiles, submarines, surface vessels and aircraft.
"Taiwan is part of China, and it's none of your business," Sha said. "Arms sales to a part of a country is wrong."
Sha's remarks came shortly after Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (
Sha claimed that US arms sales violated communiques that the US and China signed in the 1970s and 1980s to reach a reasonable level of clarity on the Taiwan issue and enable Washington and Beijing to normalize relations.
In the third and last of the communiques, from August 1982, the US said its arms sales to Taiwan would not exceed those of recent years and that it would "reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution."
"Those commitments are in black and white, and we expect them to commit to them," Sha said.
Sha also warned the US against including Taiwan in a Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system, the regional version of a national missile shield that the new US administration has said it will develop.
"Any transfer, in whatever form, disguised or not, or piece by piece, of TMD to Taiwan is a violation and an interference in internal affairs," he said.
Sha's comments come just days before Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
He said China welcomed US offers to talk about the anti-missile defense plans, although he could not confirm if Qian would raise the issue with his US hosts.
Sha said China was not opposed to TMD "per se" as a way to provide tactical defense for military units, but only if it ties into a larger national missile defense and constitutes its "front deployment."
He suggested there would be no room for a quid pro quo deal in which China agreed to reduce the number of missiles pointed towards Taiwan in return for concessions on TMD by the US.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS