{"id":67784,"date":"2023-05-16T21:17:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T21:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/16\/china-prepared-to-smash-taiwan-independence-as-us-preps-arms-package\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:01:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:01:58","slug":"china-prepared-to-smash-taiwan-independence-as-us-preps-arms-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/05\/16\/china-prepared-to-smash-taiwan-independence-as-us-preps-arms-package\/","title":{"rendered":"China prepared to \u2018smash\u2019 Taiwan independence as US preps arms package"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BEIJING \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/china\/\" target=\"_blank\">China<\/a> is prepared to \u201cresolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence,\u201d its military said Tuesday, as the U.S. reportedly prepares to accelerate the sale of defensive weapons and other military assistance to the self-governing island democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent increase in exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries is an \u201cextremely wrong and dangerous move,\u201d Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Tan Kefei said in a statement and video posted online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army \u201ccontinues to strengthen military training and preparations and will resolutely smash any form of Taiwanese independence secession along with attempts at outside interference, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,\u201d Tan said, in a reference to Taiwan\u2019s closest ally, the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China claims the island of 23 million people as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the world\u2019s largest navy, latest-generation fighter jets and a huge arsenal of ballistic missiles, China has been upping its threats by sending planes and warships into waters and airspace around Taiwan. With more than 2 million members, the PLA also ranks as the world\u2019s largest standing military, although transporting even a portion of the force in the event of an invasion is considered a huge logistical challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2023\/05\/03\/us-defense-contractors-want-deeper-cooperation-with-taiwan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23123099967997.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US defense contractors want deeper cooperation with Taiwan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A delegation of United States defense contractors and a former senior leader of the U.S. Marine Corps are pledging deeper cooperation with Taiwan.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with daily air and sea incursions around Taiwan, Beijing has held military exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait dividing the sides, seen in part as a rehearsal for a blockade or invasion that would have massive consequences for security and economies worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such actions seek to harass Taiwan\u2019s military and intimidate politicians and voters who will choose a new president and legislature next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The moves appear to have had limited effect, with most Taiwanese firmly in favor of maintaining their de facto independent status. Politicians and other public figures from Europe and the U.S. have also been making frequent trips to Taipei to show their support, despite their countries\u2019 lack of formal diplomatic ties in deference to Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tan\u2019s comments were prompted by a question from an unidentified reporter about reports that U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to approve the sale of $500 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2023\/04\/06\/pentagon-to-use-new-taiwan-arms-transfer-authority-similar-to-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\">arms to Taiwan<\/a>, as well as sending more than 100 military personnel to evaluate training methods and offer suggestions for improving the island\u2019s defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taiwan enjoys strong support from both the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties, which have called on the Biden administration to follow through on nearly $19 billion in military items approved for sale but not yet delivered to Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Administration officials have blamed the delayed deliveries on bottlenecks in production related to issues from the COVID-19 pandemic to limited capacity and increased demand for arms to assist Ukraine. Biden\u2019s move would allow the export of items from existing U.S. military stockpiles, speeding up the delivery of at least some of the hardware Taiwan needs to deter or repel any Chinese attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the items on backorder are Harpoon anti-ship missiles, F-16 fighter jets, shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, a multiple rocket and missile launcher mounted on a truck that has become a crucial weapon for Ukrainian troops battling Russian invasion forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tan\u2019s comments were in line with Beijing\u2019s standard tone on what it calls the \u201ccore of China\u2019s core interests.\u201d The two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949 and Beijing considers bringing Taiwan under its control as key to asserting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attempts to \u201cseek independence by relying on the United States\u201d and \u201cseek independence by military might\u201d are a \u201cdead end,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With China-U.S. relations at a historic low and Taiwanese unreceptive to Beijing\u2019s demands for political concessions on unification, concerns are rising about the likelihood of an open conflict involving all three sides and possibly U.S. treaty allies such as Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China\u2019s diplomatic and economic support for Russia following its invasion of Ukraine has also increased tensions with Washington. Beijing is believed to be closely studying Moscow\u2019s military failures in the conflict, while the Western will to back Kyiv is seen by some as a test of its determination to side with Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Chinese defense ministry spokesman said an increase in exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries is an \u201cextremely wrong and dangerous move.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1351],"class_list":["post-67784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"3TE2BTL6WJD5PERZJAJ4Y4ENAY","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/china\/2023\/05\/16\/china-prepared-to-smash-taiwan-independence-as-us-preps-arms-package\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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