PLA Daily: Largest-ever U.S. arms sales will not be a 'lifeline' for Taiwan secessionists

An article published by the People's Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) on Sunday criticized the United States' arms sales to China's Taiwan region, saying the move exacerbates cross-Strait tensions, sends a seriously misleading signal to Taiwan separatist forces and hollows out the island's economy.

The article warned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities that the balance of strength across the Taiwan Strait has fundamentally changed, and that the so-called largest-ever U.S. arms sales to Taiwan will not serve as a "lifeline" for separatist forces.

After Washington announced large-scale arms sales to the island, China adopted a series of countermeasures. The article said these measures make clear that any actions crossing red lines on the Taiwan question will be met with firm responses, and that companies and individuals involved in arms sales to Taiwan will be held accountable.

The arms package is valued at over $11.1 billion, exceeding the total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during former President Biden's four-year term and setting a record for a single deal. The article pointed to the malicious motives behind some U.S. politicians' aggressive push for the sales.

Politically, it argued, the record arms sales fabricate a sense of imminent conflict and false security assurances in an attempt to stoke fear of the Chinese mainland and resistance to China's national complete reunification on the island. Economically, it said, the deal is a carefully designed attempt to drain Taiwan's resources while satisfying the interests of the U.S. military-industrial complex. Militarily, the article claimed the sales aim to inject large quantities of weapons into Taiwan, turning the island into a "powder keg" in an effort to maximize the cost of China's national complete reunification.

The article said the U.S. move seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, gravely infringes upon China's sovereignty and security interests, undermines strategic mutual trust between China and the U.S., and sends an extremely dangerous and irresponsible signal to Taiwan separatist forces.

It also noted that, emboldened by U.S. support, the DPP authorities have intensified efforts to seek secession by relying on external forces and resisting China's national complete reunification through military means. These actions include promoting a so-called "new two-state theory," distorting and denying the 1992 Consensus, labeling the Chinese mainland an "external hostile force," and proposing to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.

The article concluded by saying that the Taiwan question allows no external interference, and that the PLA's resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unwavering. It warned that if Taiwan secessionists and external forces persist in provocation, the PLA will take decisive measures to crush all separatist activities and foreign interference.