China demands US to cancel $330 military sale to Taiwan

BEIJING: The United States gets a quick response from China after the Trump administration approved the $330 million military sales to Taiwan. China on Tuesday demanded the US cancel the sale of military equipment to Taiwan.

Asian superpower has also warned the US of "severe damage" to bilateral relations and mutual cooperation if Washington fails to comply.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a regular briefing that the sale violated international law and "the basic norms governing international relations".

"We urge the US side to ... immediately cancel this arms sale plan, and stop military contact with Taiwan so as to avoid severe damage to China-US ties, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and bilateral cooperation in major fields," Geng said.

The Trump administration said on Monday that it had approved the sale of spare parts and related support for Taiwan's US-made F-16 fighters and other military aircraft.

The US State Department said the sale will improve Taiwan's ability to defend itself without altering the basic military balance in Asia, where Washington and Beijing are increasingly competing for dominance.

China as a principle opposes all US military sales to Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949 but which Beijing claims as part of its territory and threatens to invade to bring under its control.

The arms sale coincides with a US decision to issue a visa ban and assets freeze on China's Equipment Development Department and its director, Li Shangfu, over the purchase from Russia of Su-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment this year.

China's purchase of the weapons from Rosoboron export, Russia's main arms exporter, violated a 2017 law intended to punish the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in US elections and other activities.

In response, China summoned the American ambassador and defense attache to deliver a protest and recalled its navy commander from a US trip. China's Defense Ministry said the U.S. had no right to interfere in Chinese military cooperation with Russia and demanded the sanctions be revoked.

The Kremlin dismissed the sanctions as an "unfair" move to undercut Russia as a major arms exporter.