Taiwan resolved to procure weapons systems from U.S.

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U.S.-China relations to face strains, experts say

Obama’s looming Dalai Lama meeting, Taiwan weapons sale could sour ties

By John Pomfret

updated 2:57 a.m. PT, Sun., Jan. 3, 2010

WASHINGTON - The United States and China are headed for a rough patch in the early months of the new year as the White House appears set to sell a package of weapons to Taiwan and as President Obama plans to meet the Dalai Lama, U.S. officials and analysts said.

The Obama administration is expected to approve the sale of several billion dollars in Black Hawk helicopters and anti-missile batteries to Taiwan early this year, possibly accompanied by a plan gauging design and manufacturing capacity for diesel-powered submarines for the island, which China claims as its territory. The president is also preparing to meet the spiritual leader of Tibet, who is considered a separatist by Beijing. Obama made headlines last year when the White House, in an effort to generate goodwill from China, declined to meet the Dalai Lama, marking the first time in more than a decade that a U.S. president did not meet the religious leader during his occasional visits to Washington.

The expected downturn with Beijing comes despite a concerted effort by the Obama administration for closer ties. U.S. officials have held more high-level meetings with their Chinese counterparts — including a summit in Beijing in November — in the first year of this administration compared with the inaugural years of the four previous presidencies since relations were normalized with Beijing in 1979, records show.

"I think it's going to be nasty," said David M. Lampton, director of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of "The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds." That said, he added, "the U.S. and China need each other."

Sensitive time
The White House is hopeful, too, that the damage will be limited. "The U.S.-China relationship is now far broader and deeper than any one issue alone," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser. "We will have disagreements . . . but we have demonstrated that we will work together on critical global and regional issues, such as economic recovery, nuclear proliferation and climate change, because doing so is in our mutual interest."

Still, the impending tension comes at a sensitive time. After hammering out a wobbly political deal with China on climate change in Copenhagen, the United States still needs China's help on three pressing international issues: Iran, North Korea and restructuring its economy so that its people consume more and export less. China recently backed a toughly worded statement on Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency but continues to oppose enhanced sanctions, which the Obama administration has signaled it will pursue in 2010. The United States also seeks China's continued support in enforcing sanctions against North Korea and in pushing Pyongyang to return to nuclear disarmament talks.

Administration officials said they are sure China will react negatively to the arms sales and the meeting with the Dalai Lama. At a minimum, U.S. officials expect that President Hu Jintao will not attend a planned nuclear security summit scheduled for April. China could also halt the resumed U.S. dialogue with China's military, which had been one of the central goals of this White House's China policy. Any hopes for China's cooperation in Afghanistan are also in question.

One hint that China will limit the scope of its reaction came during Obama's meeting with Hu in November, analysts said. Hu used the formulation "sophisticated weapons" when speaking about any possible U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. U.S. officials took that to be a reference to a tranche of F-16 fighters that Taiwan has requested but that, according to U.S. sources, will not be on Taipei's shopping list this time.

"We hope that he [Obama] will not do that," said Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador to the United States, when asked about the possibility of the arms sales and the meeting with the Dalai Lama. "We have just had a very successful visit."

New assertiveness
Still, U.S. officials and analysts have noticed a new assertiveness — what one senior U.S. official called a "sense of triumphalism" — on the part of officials and the public in China. This stems from a sense in Beijing that the global economic crisis proves the superiority of China's controlled economy and its authoritarian political system — and that the West, and in particular the United States, is in decline.

This triumphalism was on display during the recently concluded climate talks in Copenhagen. China only sent a deputy foreign minister to meetings set for the level of heads of state; its representatives publicly clashed with their American counterparts. And during the climax of the conference, China's security team tried to block Obama and the rest of his entourage from entering a meeting chaired by China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao.
That type of swagger is new for China and it could make for a stronger reaction from Beijing.

"If they really believe the United States is in decline and that China will soon emerge as a superpower, they may seek to take on the U.S. in ways that will cause real problems," said Bonnie S. Glaser, an expert on China with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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Complicating this picture is the view of some American analysts that the Obama administration — with its intensive outreach to Beijing — tried too hard in its first year to cultivate ties with China. Playing hard to get might have helped smooth out China's swagger, they suggest.

"Somehow the administration signaled to the Chinese that we need them more than they need us," Lampton said. "We're in the role of the supplicant."

The downturn would also occur at a time when China's long-established ally in the United States — the business community — is not as willing to argue on China's behalf as it was during rough patches in the past. China's government has made a series of moves to slow or reverse its market-oriented economic reforms over the last year that have prompted concern among many Western businesses. Although China has accused Washington of protectionist measures — on Wednesday, the United States imposed new duties on Chinese steel-piping imports — it also has moved aggressively to shut its markets to goods manufactured by Western companies in China. Now groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which traditionally backed ties with China, find themselves in the unusual position of organizing a public letter-writing campaign to pressure China to change its policies.

"If they continue on this particular path in a strong and inflexible way, there will be a significant political backlash not just in the United States," said a senior U.S. trade official. "China needs to be aware of that."


© 2010 The Washington Post Company

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U.S. business group accuses Obama of shorting Taiwan

U.S. business group accuses Obama of shorting Taiwan
Saturday, 2 January 2010

Washington, January 02:

The head of a prominent U.S. business group accused President Barack Obama of compromising Taiwan's security to promote U.S. ties with China.

Self-ruled Taiwan, which China deems a wayward province, is watching "with increased exasperation," said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council.

The council's board chairman is Paul Wolfowitz, a former World Bank president and former U.S. deputy secretary of defense. The group long has advocated arms sales to Taipei, including meeting its wish to buy 66 advanced Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighter jets to update its F-16 fleet.

The council represents scores of companies doing business with Taiwan, including Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales; Boeing Co; and Raytheon Co. China strongly opposes all U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Hammond-Chambers said the U.S. departments of state and defense, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative, appeared interested in building closer U.S. ties to Taipei despite resulting complications in the U.S.-China relationship.

"Regrettably, this effort runs smack into a White House that clearly views Taiwan as a barrier to U.S. interests in Asia," he wrote in an annual year-end report dated Thursday and distributed Friday.

Taiwan has improved its ties with China since the election of President Ma Ying-jeou, of the China-friendly Nationalist Party, or KMT, who took office in May 2008.

Obama, much like his predecessor, George W. Bush, has slowed the submission of proposed Taiwan arms sales to Congress, both for what analysts say is fear of disrupting China-Taiwan rapprochement and to avoid angering Beijing.

Hammond-Chambers said the council would press in 2010 to end such "packaging" of arms sales, a practice begun by Bush in 2007 in "a vain attempt to reduce Chinese ire" over what it regards as interference in its domestic affairs.

The alternative is to send arms sales notifications one by one to Congress, which has the power by law to block them. The United States is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan "defense articles and services" needed for its self-defense.

The stacking of notifications is "significantly weakening Taiwan force modernization," Hammond-Chambers wrote.

"If the Obama administration balks at providing replacement F-16 fighters to Taiwan, China will have won a major victory in the Taiwan Strait without firing a shot," the council president said. The updating of Taiwan's F-16 fleet was a "material response" to Beijing's own fighter modernization, he added.

The White House declined to comment on the criticism, which echoed the group's unhappiness with Bush's delay in meeting Taiwan's arm requests. Washington has placed more importance in recent years on working with China, a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member, including on such matters as North Korea, Iran and global warming.

Vance Chang, a spokesman for the de facto Taiwan embassy in Washington, had no immediate comment.

Hammond-Chambers said several other arms deals in the works -- including UH-60 Black Hawk tactical transport helicopters built by United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky Aircraft unit and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile batteries and missiles built by Lockheed and Raytheon -- have been ready for notification to Congress for more than a year.

The business council had expected those sales would move forward after trips Obama made to China in November and a climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, he said.

"But it now appears as if that timetable is slipping," Hammond-Chambers wrote.

"The Chinese government can view these extended periods of delay, angst and commensurate half-decisions and non-decisions as important improvements in their position on this issue," he said.

Hammond-Chambers, in a follow-up e-mail to Reuters, said the council sees the sale of updated F-16s as a top priority in the U.S.-Taiwan relationship in 2010 "and will work with the Obama Administration to achieve this goal."

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* OPINION ASIA
* JANUARY 10, 2010, 8:49 P.M. ET
The Taiwan Arms-Sales Equation
Cross-strait relations won't progress peacefully unless Taipei can defend itself from a Chinese attack.
Comments
By BRIAN T. KENNEDY

When most Americans think of China, they recall the majestic 2008 Summer Olympics, cheap goods and some relative or friend who has just returned from visiting the economic wonders of Shanghai or Beijing. When they hear about Chinese protestations over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, as they did last week, they are often a bit surprised we even do such things anymore.

Yet the recent U.S. sale of Patriot antimissile systems to Taiwan is both strategically inadequate and long-delayed, and should be of great concern not merely to the Taiwanese but to the United States and its allies as well.

When they look at China, the people of Taiwan don't see skyscrapers and sparkling, brand-new cities; they see Beijing has amassed over 1,000 short- and medium-range missiles with conventional and nuclear warheads that can destroy or cripple their country. In addition, the 3.4-million member People's Liberation Army maintains an army, air force and navy and could mount an expeditionary force that, left unchecked, could invade and destroy the democratic island.

Even the most pro-trade U.S. policy makers must question why China adds hundreds of missiles to their large and deadly arsenal each year. They have enough to destroy Taiwan already. The answer of course is that China wants to intimidate the people of Taiwan, as they will intimidate the peoples of Asia, so that they ultimately accede to the demands of Beijing or face the consequences.

The essence of Taiwan's strategy is to possess whatever defensive measures will ensure the political administration of their free island. They do not sit under America's nuclear umbrella, such that the U.S. will engage in thermonuclear war with China, should China attack Taiwan. This fact was made plain in 1995, when Lt. General Xiong Guangkai of the People's Liberation Army warned a U.S. ambassador that Americans cared more for Los Angeles than they did Taipei. At that point, American policy makers should have taken more seriously the need for missile defense for the U.S. and its allies such as Taiwan. They did not.

As a practical matter, the defense of Taiwan requires substantial defensive forces and armaments to deter China from invasion or missile attack. It is not necessary or possible that Taiwan be able to invade and conquer mainland China. China must merely believe that an invasion of Taiwan would result in an island ruined and useless to them after a conflict, and that Beijing would be condemned on the world stage as a totalitarian aggressor. As a result, China would be left alienated from the world's economic and capital markets as countries would boycott their goods and investments and therefore deny them the resources to maintain their much-needed domestic economic growth.

The 23-million citizens of Taiwan enjoy their freedom today because they have convinced, for now, China's ruling elite of these possibilities. But this persuasion may not last forever. As China grows in economic and military power, its leaders may lose patience with the Taiwanese and believe they could attack the island without repercussions. In today's globalized world, who, after all, doesn't need to do business with 1.3 billion Chinese?

Analysts of cross-strait relations argue that U.S. arms sales are mostly symbolic since, after all, Chinese will never kill Chinese. This is very reassuring to the average U.S. policy maker, who would like nothing more than to trade with China and create jobs in America. But we know from history, including our own, that nations fight civil wars for larger reasons and that indeed, the state of civil war between China and Taiwan has not ended. Because the average Congressman does not understand that China will go to war over Taiwan, arm sales lagged during the Bush administration and appear only now to be gaining interest in the Obama administration.

But current arm sales, however necessary, are not enough. If the Obama administration is serious about defending Taiwan, it would approve the sale of not merely the Patriot antimissile system, but also Aegis Cruisers with SM-3 interceptors to stop more lethal Chinese missiles and submarines for patrolling Taiwan's coast. And instead of F-16 fighter airplanes as their first line of defense, the U.S. would sell Taipei the more advanced F-22 and whatever radars and advanced technology would be required to make them effective.

Absent such serious defensive weaponry, the sale of arms is just a symbolic gesture rather than a meaningful military acquisition. If the U.S. wants peaceful cross-strait relations, then we must help the Taiwanese create a balance of power that ensures that any future dialogue over reunification be conducted without nuclear blackmail and military intimidation. The citizens of Taiwan may someday decide to rejoin their brothers on the mainland, but that day will come when they decide democratically that it is in their interest to do so.

Since the recognition of China in 1979, the U.S. has followed a policy of strategic ambiguity with regard to how far we would go in the defense of Taiwan. During that time, Taiwan has become a brilliant example of democratic freedom. It is this example that all Americans wish for all the Chinese people. There should be no ambiguity that the U.S. wishes this to continue and that we will help the people of Taiwan help themselves.

Mr. Kennedy is President of the Claremont Institute in California and a member of the Independent Working Group on Missile Defense.

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A Taiwan Lesson

Obama sells arms to an ally.

President Obama did right by Taiwan this week, allowing the sale—over Beijing's loud protests—of sophisticated antimissile batteries to the island democracy. We'll take that as a sign that there's a limit to how far the Administration is willing to go to improve relations with China at the expense of America's democratic allies.

The Bush Administration originally proposed the sale of an advanced Patriot ballistic missile interceptor system, or PAC-3, in 2001, as part of a package that included helicopters, submarines and technology upgrades. But Taiwan was eventually only offered about half of the deal, thanks to political bickering in Washington and Taipei. The formal request to Congress for the sale was only submitted in October 2008.

Meantime, the People's Liberation Army has more than 1,000 missiles pointed at Taiwan's 23 million people, and the Pentagon says it is adding about 100 missiles every year. Then there are the over 60 submarines China has patrolling the waters, plus its development of cyberwarfare capabilities and other asymmetrical threats. Taiwan itself can't possibly win an all-out war against China, but with U.S. help it can make the costs of a Chinese attack too prohibitive to contemplate seriously.

The argument against U.S. arms sales is that it clouds prospects for better relations between Taiwan and the mainland. But as Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou—a vocal advocate for a rapprochement with Beijing—has argued, the arms sales help the Taiwan-China dialogue by allowing Taipei to negotiate from a position of strength. Washington's own relationship with Beijing has hardly suffered over the three decades in which the U.S. has been selling arms to Taipei under terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

None of this has prevented China from denouncing the deal, as it has previous sales. A Chinese government spokeswoman said Thursday the PAC-3 sale would cause "serious harm." China is also worked up about Taiwan's request to buy 66 F-16s to bolster its aging air force. The latter is still outstanding, as is about $6 billion worth of items that the Bush Administration didn't put forward for sale, such as Black Hawk helicopters, minesweepers and diesel submarines.

President Obama would be wise to approve those sales. As he has learned in recent months, his overtures to China—including his refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama—haven't been reciprocated in better cooperation on North Korea, Iran and other vital U.S. interests. The sooner Beijing learns this Administration will stand up for its friends, the friendlier it will itself become.

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UPDATE 1-Obama to propose his first arms sales to Taiwan

Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:55pm EST


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WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Obama administration was set to notify the U.S. Congress on Friday of its first proposed arms sales to Taiwan, a roughly $6 billion package bound to anger Beijing and add to rising U.S.-China strains.

U.S. officials said the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency was proposing to sell Taiwan UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot "Advanced Capability" missile defenses known as PAC-3 and a command and control program operations deal.

China regards self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as a wayward offshore province subject to unification with the communist-run mainland, by force if necessary.

The United States, Taiwan's main arms supplier, is mandated under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to aid Taiwan's self-defense. The law was enacted when Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei.

Senior Obama administration officials were to hold a background teleconference at 2:05 p.m. (1905 GMT) to discuss East Asian security, the State Department's press office said, without drawing a link to the expected Taiwan arms notification.

The arms sales announcement may contribute to what is expected to be a rocky 2010 in bilateral ties. Washington and Beijing have tangled over trade, cyber hacking of the U.S. search engine Google Inc (GOOG.O), Tibet and human rights.

Economic relations -- the main glue that has bound together the United States and its rising rival -- are strained over what U.S. critics call "mercantilist" Chinese policies designed to ramp up exports amid the global economic slowdown.

China is accused of widespread theft of U.S. investors' intellectual property, policies that keep its currency undervalued to make its exports cheap and promoting import substitution measures that disadvantage foreign manufacturers.

Beijing in turn has chafed at Obama administration decisions in 2009 and this year to slap tariffs on Chinese tires and steel products. Chinese state media have condemned Google for its threat to quit the Chinese market because of cyber attacks from China and government-mandated censorship.

China usually responds to U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan with sharply worded diplomatic protests. Beijing underscores its anger by freezing military-to-military relations -- contacts desired by Washington to build confidence and avoid accidental clashes.

China suspended military-to-military contacts with the United States after then President George W. Bush notified Congress in October 2008 of plans to sell Taiwan a long-delayed arms package valued at up to $6.4 billion.

The value of the sales due to be notified to Congress on Friday would be about $6 billion, if all options are exercised, officials said on condition they not be identified. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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US to announce weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say

Page last updated at 18:01 GMT, Friday, 29 January 2010

The package is said to include helicopters and anti-missile defences

The Obama administration is to announce its first arms sales to Taiwan, US officials have said.

The White House is to formally tell Congress of the deal, US officials told Associated Press news agency.

The weapons, thought to include helicopters and anti-missile defences, are part of a package first pledged by the Bush administration.

The sale is likely to anger Beijing, which considers the self-governed island a breakaway province of China.

Taiwan split from China at the end of the country's civil war in 1949.

Beijing has hundreds of missiles pointed at the island and has threatened in the past to use force to bring it under its control.

The $6bn (£3.75bn) package is not thought to include F-16 fighter jets, an item highly desired by Taiwan's military, news agencies said.

Beijing has already warned the US not to go ahead with arms sales to Taiwan. Ties between China and the US are strained by rows over trade and internet censorship.

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China protests US arms sales, warns of 'serious' impact

Jan 29 06:19 PM US/Eastern

China on Friday protested the US decision to sell 6.4 billion dollars in weapons to Taiwan and warned of "serious" damage to relations and cooperation with Washington.

China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafai made an urgent official demarche to the US ambassador in Beijing, Jon Huntsman, in the early hours Saturday local time, Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told AFP.

"The latest US move to sell weapons to Taiwan, which is part of China,China's internal affairs, seriously endangers China's national security and harms China's peaceful reunification efforts," Wang quoted the protest as saying.

"The US plan will definitely undermine China-US relations and bring about serious negative impact on exchange and cooperation in major areas between the two countries," he added.

China "strongly urges the US side to fully recognize the gravity of the issue, revoke the erroneous decision on arms sales to Taiwan and stop selling any weapons to Taiwan," he said.

China snapped off military relations with the United States temporarily after the last US arms package to Taiwan in October 2008.

Beijing considers Taiwan, where China's nationalists fled in 1949 after losing the mainland's civil war, to be a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The United States in 1979 switched recognition to Beijing. But Congress

Wang said that the weapons deal violated the 1982 communique between China and the United States, which said the arms sales to Taiwan "will not exceed, in qualitative or in quantitative terms," the level in the years before that.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley earlier said that the arms sales were consistent with the three key communiques between the United States and China when they normalized relations. constitutes a gross intervention into requires the administration to provide Taiwan weapons for defensive purposes.

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China suspends military exchanges with US

By CARA ANNA, Associated Press Writer Cara Anna, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 1 min ago

BEIJING – China suspended military exchange visits with the United States on Saturday in protest over $6.4 billion in planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and warned the U.S. ambassador that the sales would harm already strained ties.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying the suspension is due to the "severe harm" of the arms sales on the two countries' military relations.

China took a similar step in 2008 after the former Bush administration announced a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan — the most sensitive issue in U.S.-China relations. The latest arms sales could complicate the cooperation the U.S. seeks on issues ranging from Iran's nuclear program to the loosening of Internet controls, including a Google-China standoff over censorship.

China claims the self-governing Taiwan as its own, while the United States is Taiwan's most important ally and largest arms supplier. The U.S. government is bound by law to ensure the island is able to respond to Chinese threats.

Though Taiwan's ties with China have warmed considerably since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office 20 months ago, Beijing has threatened to invade if the island ever formalizes its de facto independence. China has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan.

The arms sale, posted Friday on a Pentagon Web site, includes Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles, mine hunter ships and information technology. Congress has 30 days to comment before the plan goes forward. Lawmakers traditionally have supported such sales.

Upcoming high-level visits are likely to be affected by the China's suspension of military exchanges. Gen. Chen Bingde, the Chinese military's chief of the general staff, was due to visit the U.S., while U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had planned to come to China.

A phone call to China's defense ministry seeking comment was not answered Saturday. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, Susan Stevenson, said the embassy had no comment on the suspension of military visits.

The two powers are increasingly linked in security and economic issues, and Washington has sought to raise the profile and frequency of military visits with China and build trust with Beijing to convince it to reveal more about the aims of its massive military buildup.

But overall ties have been tense as President Barack Obama plans to meet with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, later this year. Further complications from the Taiwan arms sale could affect President Hu Jintao's expected visit to the U.S. this year, as well as talks on human rights that Obama and Hu had agreed to continue.

Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, said in a speech Friday that both Washington and Beijing do things "periodically that may not make everybody completely happy" but that the United States is "bent toward a new relationship with China as a rising power in the world."

But experts in China warned it could take further steps to punish the United States to underscore its newfound power and confidence in world affairs.

Also Saturday, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei warned U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman that the $6.4 billion sale would "cause consequences that both sides are unwilling to see." The vice minister urged that the sale be immediately canceled, it said.

The U.S. is "obstinately making the wrong decision," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at China's Renmin University, said the sale would give Beijing a "fair and proper reason" to accelerate weapons testing.

Beijing has test-fired rockets in recent weeks for an anti-missile defense system in what security experts said was a display of anger at the pending arms sale.

"The U.S. will pay a price for this. Starting now, China will make some substantial retaliation, such as reducing cooperation on the North Korea and Iran nuclear issues and anti-terrorism work," Jin added.

The arms package, however, dodges a thorny issue: more advanced F-16 fighter jets that Taiwan covets are not included.

The Pentagon's decision not to include the fighters and a design plan for diesel submarines — two items Taiwan wants most — "shows that the Obama administration is deeply concerned about China's response," said Wang Kao-cheng, a defense expert at Taipei's Tamkang University.

Taiwan's president Ma told reporters Saturday that the deal should not anger the mainland because the weapons are defensive, not offensive.

"The weapons sale decision will ... allow us to have more confidence and sense of security in developing cross-Strait relations," he said.

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U.S. seeks calm as China fumes over Taiwan arms



BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese state media blasted the United States on Monday for a planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan but U.S. officials said they hoped the flap would be temporary and not derail cooperation.

The arms sales, the latest by the United States but the first by the Obama administration, has added to a litany of strains between the world's biggest and third-biggest economies, including the value of China's currency, trade protectionism, Internet freedoms and Tibet.
The official China Daily said U.S. weapons sales to the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own, "inevitably cast a long shadow on Sino-U.S. relations."

"China's response, no matter how vehement, is justified. No country worthy of respect can sit idle while its national security is endangered and core interests damaged," the English-language newspaper said in an editorial.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S.-China relationship was important and "I don't think that either country can afford to simply walk away from the other."

Gibbs said any sanctions against the companies involved in the arms sales, a move threatened by China for the first time, would not be warranted.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognizing "one China," and says it wants the two sides to settle their differences peacefully. The United States remains Taiwan's biggest backer and is obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island's defense
.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the arms sale decision reflected "long-standing commitments to provide for Taiwan's defensive needs."

"We will, as always, pursue our interests but we will do it in a way that we think allows for positive and cooperative relations with China," he told reporters.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended the arms sale, telling reporters he hoped China's decision to protest by curtailing bilateral military contacts would be temporary and that he still planned to visit China later this year.

"Stability is enhanced by contact between our military and a greater understanding of each other's strategies, so I hope that if there is a downturn, that it will be a temporary one and that we can get back to strengthening this relationship," Gates said.

MISSILE BUILDUP CONCERNS

The Pentagon's 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report to Congress, published on Monday, said the United States was concerned and closely monitoring China's missile buildup and increasingly advanced capabilities in the Pacific region.

"One regional trend that particularly concerns the United States is the growing imbalance of power across the Taiwan Strait in China's favor," the report said.

The report said U.S. defense policymakers "remain committed to a relationship that is positive, cooperative, and comprehensive and do not believe a hostile or adversarial relationship with China is by any means inevitable."

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must accept eventual unification, by force if necessary. China's ruling Communist Party controls the country's media and uses them at sensitive times to amplify its message.

Venting intense anger over the arms sales, Chinese Internet users called for a boycott of top U.S. exporter and plane-maker Boeing Co and other companies supplying parts.

China has for years opposed U.S. defense sales to Taiwan, which has been separated from mainland rule since 1949 and was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945.

But for the first time, Beijing sought to pressure the United States by threatening to formally punish companies whose arms are involved in the arms package, which was announced on Friday.

"China has no room whatever for compromise on this issue," said a commentary in the Liberation Army Daily, the mouthpiece of the country's military, adding that Chinese armed forces were ready for "resolute struggle" over Taiwan.

"It is entirely reasonable to impose corresponding sanctions on U.S. companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan."

U.S. arms exporters declined to comment on the Chinese threat and White House spokesman Gibbs said: "I don't think those (sanctions) would be warranted."

Walter Lohman, director of Asian studies at the Heritage
Foundation, said China's response was "mostly noise" and probably designed to deter Washington from considering selling F-16 advanced fighter jets to Taiwan.

"Partly what they're doing now is trying to scare us off the F-16 sale, by making a big deal out of this one," he said.

CHINESE FACE LIMITED OPTIONS

Chinese shares appeared unmoved but trading in offshore one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) implied slightly slower appreciation for the yuan over the next 12 months.

Dealers said the NDFs shift was mainly driven by the dollar's global strength but the Sino-U.S. tension contributed.

China's top leaders, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have not publicly commented on what they have said is their nation's topmost issue, suggesting they want to keep some leeway in dealing with Washington.

Despite Beijing's strident words, options for punishing the United States were limited, said Drew Thompson, director of China Studies at the Nixon Center, a thinktank in Washington.

"They don't have a lot of leverage, and that's a source of frustration for them," he said. "It's hard to picture what they could do that's anything other than symbolic."

Sanctions on Boeing could give its rival, Airbus, more leverage in negotiations with Chinese buyers, Thompson said.

U.S. officials have said Taiwan, which lags China in the balance of military power, needs updated weapons to give it more sway with Beijing, which Taiwan says has more than 1,400 short- and mid-range missiles aimed at the island.

Beijing would postpone or partially halt some military contacts with the United States, including visits planned for this year such as Gates's trip, Xinhua news agency said.

China also said the dispute will damage cooperation with the United States over international issues. Washington has sought stronger Chinese support over several hotspots, chiefly the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

"It's difficult to take what are global problems and use them as a tool to vent frustration over a bilateral issue," Thompson said of China's options. "They risk isolating themselves pretty badly."

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China warns US against selling F-16s to Taiwan

(03-09) 01:01 PST BEIJING, China (AP) --



China on Tuesday warned the United States against any future arms sales to Taiwan, including F-16 fighter jets the island has been pushing for in hopes of upgrading its air defense capabilities.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China is firmly opposed to U.S. sales of weapons to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that the communist government in Beijing regards as part of its territory and has vowed to conquer by force if necessary.

Asked to comment on reports that Taiwan is pushing to buy F-16s from the United States, Qin said Beijing hoped the U.S. would "take China's position seriously and respect China's core interests and major concerns."

Incensed by the January announcement that the U.S. planned to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan, Beijing suspended military exchanges with the U.S. and has threatened to retaliate against U.S. aerospace firms involved in the deal.

Since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou came into office in May 2008, Taiwan has consistently pressed the United States to supply it with 66 F-16 C/Ds, an upgrade on its present inventory of F-16 A/Bs.

The issue was underscored last month when a Pentagon report painted a grim picture of Taiwan's air defense capabilities, saying that many of the island's 400 combat aircraft would not be available to help withstand an attack from rival China.

Many observers saw the study as justification for the possible sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan. The U.S. says the F-16 request remains under study.

Despite rapidly warming relations with Beijing, Taiwan maintains that it needs state-of-the-art weaponry from the U.S. to help it counter China's threat to attack.

[vector7]

Taiwan simulates attack from China

War game tests strait defenses

By Benjamin Birnbaum

7:14 p.m., Monday, July 19, 2010


Chiang

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Taiwan tested its readiness to repel a Chinese invasion with a computerized war game on Monday, less than three weeks after signing a historic trade agreement with the communist-run mainland.

"The purpose of the drill is ... to test our defense capabilities in case the People's Liberation Army launched an invasion," a Defense Ministry official said, according to Agence France-Presse.

The five-day exercise simulates a Chinese attack across the Strait of Taiwan from Guangzhou and Nanjing, the military districts closest to the self-governing island.

News of the war game coincided with a study speculating that China would deploy hundreds of new missiles aimed at Taiwan by the end of the year. It was published Monday in the Taiwanese Defense Ministry's naval studies journal.



Monday also brought a report from the Chinese-language Liberty Times that Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou had ordered the National Defense Ministry to draw up a list of items it wished to buy from the United States, including MK-54 torpedoes and dozens of M1A2 tanks.

The Obama administration announced in January that it would sell Taipei $6.4 billion in arms - a package that includes Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot air-defense missiles and supplies for Taiwan's aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets.

The arms deal prompted outrage from Chinese officials and halted a thawing in U.S.-Chinese relations, which has been one of the administration's top foreign-policy priorities.

President Obama in November paid a four-day visit to China, where he signed a joint statement under which China and the U.S. agreed to respect each other's "core interests." Chinese officials have cited the phrase as an affirmation of its "One China" policy toward Taiwan.

Mr. Ma, of the Chinese-friendly Kuomintang Party, won a landslide victory over the ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in May 2008. Since then, he has sought through economic means to reduce cross-strait tensions, which reached a fever pitch under his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian - now serving a 20-year sentence on graft charges.

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[vector7]

PLA plans to isolate Taiwan: Pentagon

NO CARROT, BIG STICK: Beijing’s strategy is to deter and repress political attitudes supporting Taiwanese independence, although the use of force would be a last resort

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER , WASHINGTON
Wednesday, Aug 18, 2010, Page 1

A new Pentagon report on the Chinese military concludes that Beijing is rapidly expanding its armed forces “to deter, delay or deny” any possible US support for Taiwan in case of a conflict. The report warns that despite the efforts of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to increase economic and cultural ties, China’s military buildup continues unabated.

“The balance of cross-strait military forces continues to shift in [China’s] favor,” the report says.

The long-awaited analysis, which comes about six months after its promised delivery date, paints a grim picture at a time when US-China relations are already strained over problems with North Korea and Beijing’s disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Titled Annual Report on Security Developments Involving China, the 74-page document says China’s military growth and plans remain largely a mystery to the US.

At the same time, Beijing’s continued refusal to reveal its military’s intentions “increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation,” the report says.

“Extreme secrecy is increasingly difficult to reconcile with China’s role in the integrated global economy, which depends on transparency,” it says.

“Despite a reduction in tensions ... the possibility of a military conflict with Taiwan and US military intervention remain the PLA’s [People’s Liberation Army] most pressing long-term military concerns,” the report says.

“A potential cross-strait conflict will drive China’s military modernization as long as China’s leaders judge that the permanent loss of Taiwan could seriously undermine the regime’s political legitimacy and hold on power,” it says. “As part of its planning for a Taiwan contingency, China continues to develop measures to deter or counter third-party intervention, including by the United States, in any future cross-strait crisis.”

“China’s approach to dealing with this challenge is manifest in a sustained effort to develop the capability to attack, at long ranges, military forces that might deploy or operate within the western Pacific,” the report says.

Beijing’s strategy toward Taiwan, the report says, incorporates “elements of persuasion and coercion” to deter or repress the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence.

“The PLA has developed and deployed military capabilities to coerce Taiwan or to attempt an invasion if necessary,” it says.

However, Beijing, it adds, appears prepared to defer the use of force as long as it believes that long-term reunification remains possible and the costs of conflict outweigh the benefits.

“The PLA is capable of increasingly sophisticated military action against Taiwan,” the report says.

“Some analysts hold that Beijing would first pursue a measured approach characterized by signaling its readiness to use force, followed by a deliberate buildup of force to optimize the speed of engagement over strategic deception,” it says.

“Others contend that it is more likely that Beijing would sacrifice preparations in favor of surprise to force rapid military and or political resolution before other countries could respond,” the report adds.

As of December last year, the PLA had deployed between 1,050 and 1,150 CSS-6 and CSS-7 short-range ballistic missiles to units opposite Taiwan, and has since upgraded the lethality of this force by introducing variants of these missiles with improved ranges, accuracies and payloads, the report says.

The report says that China bases 490 combat aircraft within unrefueled operational range of Taiwan and has the airfield capacity to expand that number by hundreds.

In addition, the PLA has about 1.25 million personnel in its ground forces, with about 400,000 based opposite Taiwan. While the report says that US President Barack Obama has agreed to sell Taiwan US$6.4 billion in defensive arms, it makes no mention of Taipei’s request to buy 66 advanced new F-16C/D fighters.

If it did come to attack, the report predicts that China would be unable to enforce a full maritime blockade, although its ability to do so will improve “significantly” over the next five to 10 years.

Beijing might use a variety of disruptive, punitive or lethal military actions, the report speculates, to “induce fear in Taiwan and degrade the populace’s confidence in the Taiwan leadership.”

Or, there could be limited air and missile attacks and precision strikes against air defense systems, again conducted to degrade Taiwan’s defenses, neutralize the Taiwanese leadership and break people’s will to fight.

The report says that a large-scale amphibious invasion is unlikely because it would be a “significant political and military risk.”

However, the PLA is capable of accomplishing various amphibious operations short of a full-scale invasion.

“With few overt military preparations beyond routine training, China could launch an invasion of small Taiwan-held islands, such as the Pratas or Itu Aba. A PLA invasion of a medium-sized, defended offshore island such as Mazu [Matsu] or Jinmen [Kinmen] is within China’s capabilities,” the report says.

“Such an invasion would demonstrate military capability and political resolve, while achieving tangible territorial gain and simultaneously showing some measure of restraint,” it says.

“However, this kind of operation includes significant, if not prohibitive, political risk because it could galvanize the Taiwan populace and generate international opposition,” the report says.

Reacting to the report, the Ministry of National Defense urged the US to sell Taiwan advanced weapons systems.

The comments by ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) were a reminder to the Obama administration of its obligation to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself against a possible Chinese attack.

In his comments to reporters, Yu called on the US to sell Taiwan F-16C/D fighter jets and diesel submarines, two systems that have been at the top of its military wish list for most of this decade.

He also acknowledged that despite Ma’s efforts to improve ties with Beijing: “China has never given up the possibility to use force against Taiwan.”

[Ryan Ruck]

Report: Obama Administration Bows To Chinese Pressure On Taiwan Arms Sales; Will Cost U.S. 16,000 Jobs

August 15, 2011

“We are disappointed in the United States.” That’s a sentiment we seem to hear all too often from our allies these days. A Taiwan Ministry of National Defense official uttered those words to Defense News with word that the Obama Administration will deny his country new F-16 fighters. As Defense News puts it, the Obama Administration’s decision came as a result of “bowing to Chinese pressure.” Instead of the 66 F-16C/Ds that were requested, the Pentagon is instead going to provide “upgrades” of the current Taiwanese system.

And the Obama Administration’s decision also most a loss of American jobs. A financial analysis firm, the Perryman Group, had estimated that the Taiwan purchase would have created more than 16,000 jobs and $768 million in federal tax revenue.

China currently holds around 8 percent of U.S. debt.

There are now fears that we could be “losing Taiwan,” as it drifts out of the U.S. orbit. That would “change everything from the operational arch perspective to the posture of Japan and the U.S.” in the region, said retired Admiral Walter Doran, who once commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

[American Patriot]

Grrrrr

Ryan.... this is deliberate on the part of the WH.

There is NO OTHER EXPLANATION for this. DELIBERATE.

This man is TRYING to make us the worst country in the world.

[BRVoice]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...78F0MW20110916


Insight: Looming U.S. decision on Taiwan risks China rift


A soldier stands guard at the Mashan observatory in Kinmen, one of Taiwan's offshore islands, August 22, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Pichi Chuang

By Chris Buckley
BEIJING | Fri Sep 16, 2011 8:01am EDT

(Reuters) - The Obama administration's impending decision on arms sales to Taiwan is likely to strain the diplomatic truce between the United States and China, which faces rising domestic demands to wield its growing power against debt-saddled Washington.

Throughout this year, Washington and Beijing have sought to stabilize ties before both enter attention-sapping political seasons in 2012, when President Barack Obama faces re-election and China's Communist Party leadership changes hands.

But Sino-American quarrelling is likely to resume for a while if, as seems likely, the U.S. government announces before October 1 that it will offer to sell more weapons to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing deems a breakaway province.

The Washington Times said the Obama administration could brief the Congress on a Taiwan arms package as early as Friday, but the White House declined comment.

The deal could sour the mood between the world's two biggest economies at a jittery time for global markets, even if China confines its response to angry words and largely symbolic recriminations, said several experts.

"China will oppose in principle any decision to sell weapons to Taiwan, but how China expresses its opposition and how strongly will depend on the substance of the decision," said Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated its opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Washington should "avoid any unnecessary disturbance and damage to bilateral ties," the ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"Our stance on this is very resolute," she said.

Taiwan has been a perennial source of discord between the United States and China. But nowadays China also faces growing expectations at home that it will use its growing strength to press demands abroad, especially when the United States and other Western nations are beset by economic woes.


UNACCEPTABLE

"I think that whether it's the (Chinese) government or the public, there's a deepening feeling that U.S. arms sales are increasingly unacceptable to China -- that this problem should not keep dragging on," Wu of Fudan University said in a telephone interview.

China calls the U.S. arms sales meddling in a domestic dispute. It has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, especially if Taiwan formally seeks independence.

Washington says it wants Taiwan and China to settle their dispute peacefully and is obliged by U.S. law to help the island defend itself.

Chinese analysts expect a vehement reaction to the impending announcement because of the sense that China is growing more powerful.

"Many members of the Chinese public believe their country is quickly becoming strong, and the United States is in decline, so we should no longer be afraid of the United States, and not make as many concessions as the past," Wang Jisi, a professor of international relations at Peking University, told a recent seminar in Beijing.

"I believe that clearly China will respond strongly, and the strength of the public and (media) opinion reaction may go beyond the government's response," said Wang.

China has been loud about opposing any U.S. offer to sell Taiwan advanced F-16 fighter jets that would bolster its air defenses. It's unclear whether Washington will offer them this time, but China could respond strongly even if F-16s are not put forward, said Wu, the Fudan University professor.

The Washington Times said Obama had decided against including the new jets in this round of weapons offered but would give the island a $4.2 billion arms package.

"The public isn't concerned about what specifically you sell to Taiwan. It feels that selling the weapons in itself shows the United States lacks respect for China," Wu said.

"It's like a friend slapping another friend on the face. It doesn't matter whether you slap two times or three times."


BACK TO 2010?

Last year, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan were among the disputes that ignited tensions with China, where the condemnation of the Obama administration's decision was accompanied by a chorus of public demands, including from military officers, that China should use its growing strength to punish Washington.

Since then, the government has sought to rein in People's Liberation Army. But Chinese media and Internet have continued to urge a tough response on any new U.S. arms offers to Taiwan.

Backed by that public anger, the Chinese government could turn an angry face to the Obama administration. But most observers said they expect China to hold back from retaliatory steps that could spook markets or overshadow meetings between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao at summits this year.

"I think the leadership is intent on keeping the relationship steady despite the arms sales," Linda Jakobson, the East Asia Program Director at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, said of China.

"I think there has been a policy decision to keep the relationship stable, but when it comes to how to avoid a downturn despite the arms sale, I think there is a diversity of views of how to do this."


(Additional reporting by Sabrina Mao; Editing by Brian Rhoads and Nick Macfie)

[BRVoice]

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htl.../20110918.aspx


Taiwanese Nightmares

September 18, 2011: Taiwan’s military leaders are openly discussing a wide variety of military moves China might make towards Taiwan. This is to prepare the people, government and business leaders for some, until now, unexpected, tactics.

One of the scariest tactics is the partial blockade. This would block access to Taiwan’s main ports for a short time, and then depart. This would cause shipping costs (especially insurance) to rise, and some customers would seek other suppliers. Thus Taiwan firms would lose sales, and the population would become demoralized.

Another attack is to use a few ballistic missiles to hit military targets on Taiwan, in response to some real or faked grievance. Again, Taiwan would be reluctant to respond, because China has so much more military power. The U.S. has promised to stop a Chinese invasion, but the help available for these harassment tactics is less certain.

China still has the option to try for an invasion. This would have to be a quick affair, to take advantage of the absence of U.S. naval and air forces (which would take a few days to arrive.) China recently revealed that it had added paramilitary police battalions from the PAP (People’s Armed Police) to proposed invasion forces. These police would deal with any civilian resistance on Taiwan. The PAP has a reputation for being very rough with unruly civilians. This indicates that China expects some resistance from the civilian population, and is ready to put it down quickly, with as much brutality as is required.

For decades, Taiwan has been preparing for a large scale amphibious invasion. But China is operating from their ancient playbook (think of Sun Tzu), which calls for doing what your opponent won’t expect. And Taiwan is now trying to prepare for that as well.

[BRVoice]

China Warns of Consequences of US-Taiwan Arms Deal

Posted Monday, September 19th, 2011 at 4:05 am


Chinese state media are warning of “severe consequences” if the United States goes ahead with a reported plan to upgrade Taiwan's existing fleet of F-16 jet fighters.

Members of the U.S. Congress are telling news organizations they have been briefed on the plan, which falls short of Taiwan's request to purchase the latest generation F-16s with more advanced capabilities and weapons.

The China Daily newspaper said Monday that even the reduced $4.2 billion arms package will provoke a fierce reaction from China, affecting its relations with Taiwan and the United States. It quoted a financial news website suggesting that China reduce its huge holdings in U.S. Treasury bonds as retaliation.

China's Global Times newspaper also predicted protests from Beijing, but said there is no effective way for China to respond. It said China is unlikely to cut off military exchanges with the United States, as it did after an earlier arms sale , as this would lead to further international criticism of China.

U.S. President Barack Obama is also being criticized by conservatives in his own country, who accuse him of caving in to China.

U.S. officials say they will not comment on the sale until they have formally notified Congress, something that is expected to happen before the end of this month.

Taiwan Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said Monday he has not been notified of any decision on the arms sale by Washington, and he still hopes the United States will agree to sell Taiwan the advanced jets and diesel electric submarines it has requested.

Taiwan has been independently governed since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949, but Beijing still sees it as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. It regards any arms sales to Taiwan as interference in its internal affairs.

U.S. law obliges the American government to sell Taiwan sufficient weapons for its own defense. But Washington has also committed to gradually phase out arms sales to the island.

[Toad]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15009033

US confirms Taiwan F-16 fighter jet upgrade
21 September 2011 Last updated at 11:42 ET

The US has confirmed plans to upgrade Taiwan's ageing fleet of F-16 US-built fighter planes.

The announcement suggests the US will not now sell Taiwan a newer generation of F-16, as Taipei had hoped.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has warned Washington not to proceed with the deal.

But the US is legally bound to help Taiwan defend itself, and the move comes as China's military superiority over Taiwan has steadily increased.

[Toad]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...78K0UM20110921


UPDATE 1-US moves to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet

Reuters) - The Obama administration formally notified the U.S. Congress on Wednesday of a potential $5.3 billion upgrade of Taiwan's existing fleet of U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets despite China's opposition to such arms deals.

The "retrofit" of 145 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 A/B aircraft will give them essentially the same capabilities as late-model F-16 C/Ds that Taiwan has sought to deter any attack, U.S. officials told reporters ahead of the notification.

Beijing deems Taiwan a renegade province subject to unification by force if necessary. It regards U.S. arms sales to the self-ruled island as the top obstacle to improved ties between the United States and China, now the world's two biggest economies.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in its notice that Taiwan had requested 176 state-of-the-art Active Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, radar sets, in addition to a long list of advanced air-to-air missiles and other hardware for the F-16s sold by the United States in 1992.

AESA radar "offers a significant capability that would be able to maintain Taiwan's qualitative advantage" over currently deployed Chinese fighters, said Mark Stokes, a former Pentagon China desk chief who heads the Project 2049 Institute, an Asia security research group.

Raytheon Co and Northrop Grumman Corp are expected to compete to supply the AESA radar sets.

On Capitol Hill, a total of 47 of the 100 U.S. senators and 181 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives have written to President Barack Obama since May to urge him to sell Taiwan at least 66 late-model F-16 C/D planes. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Anthony Boadle)

[Toad]

Toad~ Whao. Surprise, surprise. Not.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/china-denounced-us-arms-deal-for-taiwan/2011/09/21/gIQADDIemK_story.html

China denounces U.S. arms deal for Taiwan

By Keith B. Richburg, Published: September 21

BEIJING — China on Thursday angrily demanded the Obama administration cancel its plans to upgrade Taiwan’s aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets, warning that the decision will harm U.S.-China ties overall and military cooperation between the two countries.

A statement Thursday on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website, and an article on the website of Xinhua, the official news agency here, said China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun summoned U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke to lodge a “strong protest.” Xinhua said China’s ambassador in Washington, Zhang Yesui, also lodged a protest.

“The wrongdoing by the U.S. side will inevitably undermine bilateral relations as well as exchanges and cooperation in military and security areas,” Zhang Zhijun reportedly told Locke, according to the Xinhua report.

“China strongly urges the United States to be fully aware of the high sensitivity and serious harm of the issue, seriously treat the solemn stance of China, honor its commitment and immediately cancel the wrong decision,” the vice foreign minister told Locke, according to the report.

“The new round of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, no matter in what excuses and reasons, cannot hide the intention of interfering in China's internal affairs and will send very wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces, and will severely disturb the momentum of peaceful development in cross-Strait relations,” the vice foreign minister said.

China’s official reaction came the day after the Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of a plan, worth $5.8 billion, to upgrade Taiwan’s 145 F-16 A/B fighter jets, rejecting, for now, the island’s request to purchase 66 more sophisticated F-16 C/Ds.

Last year, when the U.S. approved a separate arms package for Taiwan worth $6.4 billion, Beijing reacted by temporarily suspending military exchanges with Washington. Those military ties were only fully restored in January, when then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to China and met his counterpart Liang Guanglie, ahead of an official visit to Washington by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

At the time, Gates and Liang told reporters that military ties between the U.S. and China should not be affected by politics.

From Thursday’s tough language, it was unclear whether military ties once again would be affected by the U.S. agreeing to sell — or in this case, upgrade — weapons for Taiwan’s defense.

China did not immediately announce any retaliatory measures, other than Vice Foreign Minister Zhang’s warning that “exchanges and cooperation in military and security areas” would be harmed.

Some experts believed that this time, relations should not suffer as a result of the arms deal, despite Beijing’s official protests.

“The arms sale will affect the bilateral relationship a little bit because China feels that they are not respected enough by the U.S.,” said Chu Shulong, a professor at the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University. “But it will have a minor influence, and won’t have impact on the military ties, like last time. There won’t be any direct effect on the Sino-U.S. relationship because of the arms sale this time.”

The first reason, Chu said, was because the size of the arms package was carefully calibrated, and did not include the new fighters. “This is the best decision the Obama administration can make for the U.S. to balance the interests of all sides — Taiwan, the mainland and the domestic politics — although none of the sides will be fully satisfied,” he said.

Second, Chu said, China had a chance to learn of the decision beforehand, perhaps during Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s visit in August. “So China feels they are more respected than in the past,” Chu said.

Washington Post researcher Zhang Jie in Beijing contributed to this report.