Sok Becomes A Hero Amidst The Turmoil Of War with China, The US Apparently Only Made Taiwan A Money Machine, Selling Mediocre Quality Weapons?

China has strongly condemned the United States (US) for selling advanced weapons to Taiwan.

Beijing considers US arms sales to Taiwan to be grossly violating the principle of one-China and three communiques signed by China and the US on August 17, 1982, Wang said.

China threatened on Monday (26/10/2020) that it would sanction US military industrial companies and individuals involved in arms sales to Taiwan.

But after the threat, the US announced plans for a new round of arms sales to separatist Taiwanese authorities with offensive Harpoon missiles that could strike mainland China.

The mainland China expert warned that while this missile cannot threaten the People's Liberation Army (PLA) effectively, it is a bigger provocation than in the past.

China urged the US to halt and cancel any relevant arms sales plans to prevent further damage to Sino-US relations.

This was conveyed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a regular press conference Tuesday, noting that "China will take legal and necessary action to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests with firm determination."

Whether the sanctions can effectively stop the US move or not, China still has to show its determination to keep its will in the conflict with Taiwan.

They do not allow any other country to interfere with its claim to territory in Taiwan, a country that Tsai-Ing Wen claims is self-governing.

For Taiwan, more arms sales will not bring security, but will bring it closer to the brink of war, experts say.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement released on Tuesday that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan wanted to arm itself to fight reunification and bring about secession.

But it will only "break the cross. -Straits peace and stability, and bring about an even greater disaster for the Taiwanese people."

According to the AP, the Donald Trump administration on Monday (US time) notified the US Congress about a planned $ 2.37 billion sale of the Harpoon missile system to Taiwan just hours after mainland China announced sanctions on US defense contractors.

"The US government is not trying to implement a policy of long-term arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not be exceeded, either qualitatively or quantitatively.

And it intends to gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan, which over a period of time lead to a final resolution, "the agreement based on the three communiqués reads.

The US action is currently considered to have interfered in China's domestic affairs.

"It seriously undermines China's sovereignty and security interests, and sends the wrong signal to Taiwanese separatists, and has seriously damaged Sino-US relations and peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Strait," said China's Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin.

Song Zhongping, a mainland Chinese military expert, said on Tuesday that "US missiles can pose some threat to the PLA if war breaks out between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait."

"This shows more evidence that the US has broken its promises made in three joint communiqués with the People's Republic of China to gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan."

As US national security adviser Robert O'Brien advised Taiwanese DPP authorities, the US is trying to arm the island like a "hedgehog" with some US-made offensive weapons.

So that mainland China will not risk bringing Taiwan back by force if necessary, mainland experts say.

"The threat that these Harpoon missiles pose to the PLA is very limited, as they are high-subsonic missiles designed in the 1980s, and the self-defense and anti-missile facilities currently installed by the PLA on its ships and ground bases can easily hit them. , "said Song.

The US actually has more advanced anti-ship missiles with stealth capabilities, but will not sell them to Taiwan.

According to Song, the expensive US deal with Taiwan shows that the US still treats the island as a "money machine".

He noted that similar missiles, such as the H incred Feng III developed by the Taiwan defense industry itself, would be abandoned by the Taiwanese authorities because of the sale of these weapons.

Some Taiwan-based observers say if Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins the US presidential election, plans for US arms sales to Taiwan may be affected.

Because Biden does not have as many connections as Trump in the DPP Taiwan.

Still, experts say, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Biden wins next week's election, it's unlikely the US will make changes to the deal, as both Republicans and Democrats share a consensus in Congress on arms sales to Taiwan.