China summons US envoy over Taiwan arms deal
Written by Taiwo Adediran on December 17, 2015
China has summoned a senior US envoy in protest after Washington announced it would sell two warships to Taiwan. Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang on Wednesday summoned Kaye Lee, Charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in China.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province which will one day be reunited with the mainland, though relations have warmed in recent weeks.
The arms deal, worth one-point-eight billion dollars, includes two decommissioned US Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles, as well as surface-to-air missiles and other military equipment.
China pledged to sanction the US firms involved in it, saying the deal had severely damaged its sovereignty and security interest. The US however said the deal, the first in four years, is consistent with its “long-standing policy on arms sales to Taiwan”.