US Military Aid to Taiwan Escalates: China Calls It ‘Playing with Fire’ 

President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. Credit | AP
President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. Credit | AP

United States: The Chinese government complained on Sunday about more recent statements regarding military supplies and support to Taiwan from America, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.” 

More about the news 

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden signed off on USD 571 million in defense supplies and military training for Taiwan, an island Beijing considers its own and must reclaim. 

However, the Department of Defence said in a statement on Friday that USD 295 million of military sales had been cleared. 

American contribution is more than supplying arms, support, and equipment to Taiwan in order to encourage it to defend itself against attack from China

President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. Credit | AP
President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. Credit | AP

What more are the officials stating? 

The statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the US to stop arming Taiwan and to put a halt to what it called “dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” 

The military aid is in addition to Biden’s approval of USD 567 million for the same goals in late September this year. The military sales are as follows: USD 265 million to purchase approximately 300 tactical radio systems and USD 30 million for 16 gun mounts. 

However, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry did give a welcoming gesture to the two sales in a post on X, where it reaffirmed the US government’s “commitment to our defense.” 

In October, the US announced a USD 2 billion package of arms sales to Taiwan, including the first-ever sale of an advanced Silver Sparrow surface-to-air missile defense system, which Beijing has condemned while conducting war exercises around Taiwan. 

Taiwan last week called on China to stop the current militarisation of waters around the region, which it said did not encourage peace and stability and interfered with the sea lane and commerce. 

Trump recently told the magazine that he would not defend Taiwan in case of Chinese aggression when he is in the White House. Trump has also noted that Taiwan needs to compensate the US for defending it from China as in insurance. 

Taiwan uses about 2.5 percent of its GNP in defense.