China urges U.S. to end weapon sales to Taiwan

China urges U.S. to end weapon sales to Taiwan

BEIJING (Agencies): China urged the United States on Tuesday to end all weapon sales to Taiwan, a day after Washington delayed a decision on whether to supply the island with AEGIS naval destroyers.

"The Chinese government urges the U.S. government to abide by the norms of the three Sino-US joint communiques. Stop all arms sales to Taiwan including long-range warning radars and AEGIS (destroyers)," foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said at a press briefing.

He said such sales were "obstacles to the improvement of China-U.S. relations," while also serving to bolster "splittist forces" in Taiwan.

"China's government and its people have always been strongly opposed to any sale of sophisticated arms to Taiwan by the U.S. and have launched representations to the U.S. on many occasions," Sun said.

Sun was responding to Monday's postponement by the U.S. of a decision on whether to sell Taiwan four AEGIS destroyers -- a move apparently motivated by fears of damaging U.S.-China relations.

The United States also deferred a decision on the sale of advanced PAVE PAWS radar, but agreed to sell equipment that would boost the island's existing radar system "to answer the short term needs of Taiwan," a U.S. official said.

U.S. administrations have been bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself since 1979 when Washington ended diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established relations with Beijing.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait began rising prior to the March 18 presidential elections with Chen Shui-bian, of the pro- independence Democratic Progressive Party, the least accommodating candidate to Beijing's reunification desires.

So far, Chen, like his predecessor, Kuomintang Party head and outgoing President Lee Teng-hui, has refused to accept reunification negotiations on Beijing's terms.

Spokesman Sun reiterated Beijing's position that it would watch and wait to see whether Taiwan president-elect Chen makes any moves toward greater Taiwan independence, or whether he succumbs to Beijing's pressure and accepts negotiations based on the "principle of one China."

"Taiwan independence will lead to the disaster of war," Sun warned.

"We will never renounce the use of force," he said, "This is mainly targeted at those independence forces and foreign forces trying to interfere in China's internal affairs."

Taiwan insisted on Tuesday that plans to upgrade the island's defenses were motivated by genuine security concerns -- signaling disappointment at the U.S. decision to delay the multi- billion dollar sale of the destroyers.

Washington is considering what arms it will sell Taipei this year, and senior officials told The Associated Press on Monday that four US$1 billion destroyers won't be part of the package.

Washington also approved Taiwanese training and help in integrating the $18 billion worth of weapons already sold to Taiwan, the official said.

Damon Bristow, a researcher with Britain's Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies, said selling the Aegis ships to Taiwan would be a mistake because the military would not be able to find enough trained sailors to crew the destroyers.

"There's no point in buying a Porsche if you've only been driving for six months," Bristow said.

"I'm not against Taiwan having Aegis. I'm just against selling it to Taiwan now," he said.

China this year received delivery of the first of two modern Sovremenny-class Russian destroyer and is awaiting delivery of up to eight Israeli Phalcon Advanced Warning Airborne Control Systems (AWACS) mounted on Russian military cargo planes.

The destroyers and AWACS, when coupled with China's battalion of Russian Sukhoi 27 fighter jets and a pending deal for the supply of advance Sukhoi 30s, could significantly enhance the Chinese military's capability to implement a naval blockade of Taiwan, defense sources in Beijing said.