【10.1.7 路透社】U.S. clears arms sale to Taiwan despite China's ire

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U.S. clears arms sale to Taiwan despite China's ire

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6060V020100107

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States has cleared a sale of advanced Patriot air defense missiles to Taiwan despite opposition from rival China, where a military official proposed sanctioning U.S. firms that sell arms to the island.

The U.S. defense department announced the contract late on Wednesday, allowing Lockheed Martin Corp to sell an unspecified number of Patriots, Washington's de facto embassy in Taipei said.


The hardware, some of the best in its class, could shoot down Chinese short-range and mid-range missiles, defense analysts say.


The sale rounds out a $6.5-billion arms package approved under then U.S. President George W. Bush in late 2008, said Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chief with Defense News.


"This is the last piece that Taiwan has been waiting on," Minnick said.


China has urged the United States to cancel any planned arms sales to Taiwan to avoid damaging ties with Beijing, and a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, swiftly denounced the missile deal.


"We have already made stern representations to the U.S. side, and we have urged the United States to clearly recognize the serious harm caused by arms sales to Taiwan," Jiang told a regular news conference in Beijing.


Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Admiral Yang Yi told the China News Service that though developing good ties between China and the United States was important, some things could not be accepted.


"You can't just be forebearing and conciliatory when it comes to the development of stable and healthy Sino-U.S. relations, and especially when it comes to a question of principles you should never blindly make concessions," he said.


Some U.S. companies which sell weapons to Taiwan also want to sell aircraft and other goods to China, added Yang, who is also a researcher at the Chinese National Defense University's Strategic Studies Institute, without naming any firms.


"Why don't we take defensive countermeasures against them? Apart from just protesting to the U.S. government and taking necessary steps, why don't we put sanctions on these troublemakers?"


China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.


The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognizing "one China." But it remains Taiwan's biggest ally and is obligated by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island's defense.


"Taiwan's defense ministry looks favorably at the U.S. continuing to sell Taiwan weapons for its self defense," Taiwan military spokesman Martin Yu said. Taiwan estimates China is aiming 1,000 to 1,500 missiles at the island.

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World Digest: China warns U.S. against selling weapons to Taiwan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010704249.html

Amid reports that the Obama administration is close to selling billions of dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan, a spokeswoman for the Chinese government warned the United States on Thursday that arms sales to the island would have "severe consequences."
"China firmly opposes arms sales to Taiwan by the United States. Our stance is consistent and clear," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news briefing.
Ironically, the rift over arms sales to Taiwan comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Taipei have been growing warmer. Beijing regards the self-governing island as part of China, but Taiwan has governed itself since the Communist takeover of the mainland in 1949 sent Nationalist forces fleeing. The two sides recently eased barriers to travel and trade.
The Obama administration has worked to improve ties with China, but tension over Taiwan could complicate other issues, including how to contend with Iran and its nuclear program.
On Monday, Jiang said, "China always advocates resolution of the Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations, and we believe sanctions are not the way to solve the root issues."

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