BEIJING, June 9 -- "The Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a press briefing on Monday.
It is reported that the US is transporting a new batch of M1A2 tanks to Taiwan and plans to increase its arms sales to Taiwan in the next four years. New arms sales may surpass that of the first Trump administration. In addition, a former official of the US military said that about 500 US military personnel are operating in Taiwan, which is over ten times of the number previously disclosed by the US Congress.
When being asked to comment on these, the Chinese defense spokesperson first pointed out that this is another solid piece of evidence that the US and the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces are taking efforts to violate China's core interests, change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and escalate regional tensions.
"Who is making provocations despite strong opposition from the Chinese side? Who is undermining cross-Strait stability and repeatedly stirring up troubles? We all know the answers. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this act," said the spokesperson.
Following on, the spokesperson urged the US side to stop its military collusion with Taiwan in any form; otherwise it will get burnt for playing with fire and gain more harm than good. He also warned the DPP authorities that the US weapons cannot save them, and soliciting external support for "Taiwan independence" is doomed to fail.
"The Chinese PLA will continue to strengthen military training and combat readiness and enhance its capability to fight and win. We will take resolute measures to thwart "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external interference," stressed the spokesperson.