China said continued US arms sales to Taiwan could disrupt military exchanges between the two countries, Reuters reported. The US plans to sell upgrades to Taiwan’s F-16 A/B fighter planes, at a cost of US$5.3 billion. “The Chinese military expresses its utmost indignation and strong condemnation of this action that gravely interferes in China’s domestic affairs and damages China’s sovereignty and national security interests,” a Ministry of Defense spokesman said on Thursday. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi added that the US “once again took the wrong decision in making large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.” China has not decided how it will respond, and is likely gauging public opinion, said Sun Zhe, a professor at Tsinghua University. The US decided to offer Taiwan the F-16 upgrade rather than the sale of a newer, more advanced model, which was widely seen as a concession to the US-China relationship.
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