"US arms sales to China’s Taiwan region are a blatant violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués, especially the August 17 Communiqué. The arms sales gravely undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, severely harm China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and send a gravely wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns them," Mao said, commenting on the new approved US arms sale to Taiwan.
The spokeswoman said that China would take strong measures to defend its sovereignty and security interests. Beijing urges the US to act responsibly in the region, she added.
"China urges the US to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués, stop arms sales to Taiwan and military contact with Taiwan, stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, stop seeking political manipulation with Taiwan-related issues, stop using Taiwan to contain China, and avoid going further down the wrong and dangerous path," Mao added.
Last week, the US State Department approved the sale of approximately $1.1 billion in military equipment including Harpoon and Sidewinder missiles to Taiwan in order to modernize the island's defense capabilities and serve US security interests.
The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island.
China considers Taiwan an unalienable part of its sovereign territory and opposes any official contacts between the island and sovereign countries. The US has been supporting the government of Taiwan and selling weapons to the island. Beijing has repeatedly said that the One China principle is a political foundation of China-US relations and that violations by Washington of its own obligations have been jeopardizing cooperation between the two countries, threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.