China slams US bills on Taiwan

Global Times

By Yang Sheng Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/8 22:58:40

US arms sales to island won't save secessionists: expert

The bills passed by the US House of Representatives that support Taiwan secessionist forces have angered China, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned that such a move could seriously damage the China-US relationship as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

The US should realize that its support for Taiwan secessionists won't change the overwhelming advantage that the People's Liberation Army holds against the military forces of the island and if the US makes too much trouble for the peaceful reunification of China, it will force China to realize the goal through non-peaceful measures, Chinese experts warned.

Geng Shuang, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a routine press conference on Wednesday that the relevant bills passed by the US House of Representatives "have seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués and wantonly interfered in the internal affairs of China."

The House on Tuesday unanimously backed the legislation, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The House voted 414-0 for a non-binding resolution reaffirming the "US commitment to Taiwan."

It also backed by a unanimous vote the "Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019," which supports the island and urges it to increase its defense spending, noting Washington should conduct "regular sales and defense articles" to the island and back Taipei's "participation in international organizations."

There was no word on when the Assurance Act might come up for a vote in the Senate, which would be necessary before it could become law, Reuters reported.

"China firmly opposes it and has lodged solemn representations with the US," Geng said on Wednesday.

He noted that China urged the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, prevent Congress from moving forward with the bills and exercise caution and prudence when handling Taiwan-related issues to "avoid serious damage to cooperation between China and the US and cross-Straits peace and stability."

More provocations

Lü Xiang, an expert on China-US relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said that the US will keep or increase its provocations on the Taiwan question since it has already identified China as a strategic competitor, and Taiwan is the most effective card to play for making trouble with China.

"Taiwan's election will take place next year and so the US believes that now is good timing for it to play the Taiwan card to pressure or contain China," Lü said.

According to the latest surveys and reports by some Taiwan-based media outlets and institutions, the anti-secession political figures within the island, including the KMT Party "election" candidates such as Terry Gou and Han Kuo-yu, are more popular than pro-secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates and the current island leader Tsai Ing-wen.

The US might not want to see pro-reunification forces win the "election" and start political negotiations with the mainland, Lü noted. Washington was likely to launch more actions to ensure the DPP stays in power, he said.

"The mainland needs to be alert and prepare for any possible incident and provocation," Lü said.

US politicians and policymakers believe that playing the Taiwan card can distract China's focus, said Xu Guangyu, a senior consultant at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

But this proves China was on the right track as the US was getting nervous, Xu said.

China should not be distracted and should stick to what it is doing to keep influencing the people of the island with a calm attitude and isolate the secessionists, Xu noted.

"The US dares not cross China's red line to intervene directly in the Taiwan question as it has no chance to win a war against China in the Taiwan Straits. What it can do is just make Taiwan a cash machine for US military industrial companies," he said.

US can't save secessionists

Peng Guangqian, a retired major general and a strategic studies expert at the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA, said "US arms sales to the island won't keep the secessionists safe, but very likely will speed up their destruction."

The military advantage the mainland holds is unchangeable, no matter what the US sells to the island, and more arms sales could force the PLA to further increase its capability to reunify the island by force, Peng said.

"So US provocations are not a bad thing to some extent. The reunification might be realized earlier than we expect through non-peaceful means if the US increases its provocation."

A military exercise is being conducted by the PLA in waters off East China's Zhejiang Province, north of Taipei in Taiwan, from 6 am May 5 to 6 pm May 10, the yhnews.zjol.com.cn news portal run by the coastal city government of Yuhuan, East China's Zhejiang Province reported on Monday.

The exercise aims to showcase China's full ability to protect its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, said Chinese mainland military experts.