China urges US to halt arms sale to Taiwan: spokesperson

BEIJING - China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the United States' plan for the sale of arms worth $100 million to Taiwan and urges its immediate cancellation, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the sale of weapons to the Taiwan region of China by the United States severely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique.

"Such acts seriously undermine China's sovereignty and security interests and gravely harm China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said Zhao.

China urges the United States to stay committed to the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, immediately cancel its arms-sale plan, and stop military ties with the Taiwan region, said the spokesperson.

China will take legitimate and forceful measures to staunchly defend its sovereignty and security interests, he said.