China has criticized Washington’s decision to provide new military assistance to the self-governed island
Washington’s latest decision to supply arms to Taiwan increases the risks faced by the self-governed island instead of bolstering its security, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Taipei is set to get $8 billion in security assistance under a bill recently approved by the US Congress. Wang Wenbin, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, criticized the decision during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“It will only increase tensions and the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait, and will ultimately be an act of shooting oneself in the foot,” he warned.
Congress has approved $95 billion in foreign aid, with most of the spending related to Ukraine. President Joe Biden is set to sign the appropriations into law this week.
Taiwan was the last refuge of nationalist forces during the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, and has since remained de facto independent from Beijing and allied with Washington. The One-China policy, which forms the core of its government’s relationship with Taiwan, states that there is only one Chinese national state.
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