China steps up criticism of US arms sales to Taiwan

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.