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.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College