Washington’s actions violate the one-China principle and undermine regional stability.
China’s ambassador to Qatar.
The United States blatantly announced its plan to sell massive advanced weapons to China’s Taiwan region in December 2025. It grossly violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, infringed on China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and undermined peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this, and has taken a series of necessary measures to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Taiwan question is entirely China’s internal affair. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This has been clearly recognised by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971.
Taiwan’s restoration to China is a victorious outcome of World War II and an integral part of the post-war international order. A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, have all affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations.
The US’s massive arms sales to China’s Taiwan region grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs. The US side pledged in the August 17 communique, which China and the US jointly issued in 1982, that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.
However, the US has not been faithfully implementing the one-China principle and stipulations in the three China-US joint communiques, especially the August 17 communique, over the past 40 years. There have been more frequent open military interactions between the US and Taiwan, and the size and performance of arms sold by the US to Taiwan have kept increasing. It gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and security, while emboldening the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.
Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and must be decided by the Chinese ourselves. History and practice have repeatedly proved that the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. When the one-China principle is fully recognised and earnestly followed, the Taiwan Strait would remain calm and tranquil. However, when the one-China principle is wilfully challenged or even sabotaged, there would be dark clouds or even violent storms across the Taiwan Strait.
The root cause of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait is that the Taiwan authorities have kept soliciting US support for “Taiwan independence”, and some people in the US intend to use Taiwan to contain China. It is the US and Taiwan separatist forces, not China, that seek to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The US arms sales to Taiwan made provocations first. China’s response is legitimate, lawful and justified. It is a severe punishment against the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and a stern warning to external interference forces.
Although the two sides across the Taiwan Strait have yet to be reunified, the fact that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China has never and will not be changed. This is the true status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
To solicit US support to advance their separatist agenda, the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) authorities are turning Taiwan into a powder keg. Their massive and desperate arms purchase further reveals their true nature as provocateurs, saboteurs of peace and warmongers. External forces who try to arm Taiwan to contain China will only embolden the separatists and push the Taiwan Strait closer to the peril of armed conflict.
The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, and is a red line that must not be crossed. China will take all measures necessary to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. No matter how many advanced weapons are sold to Taiwan, this will not reverse the inevitability of China’s reunification. Anyone who crosses the line or makes provocations on the question will be met with China’s firm response. All attempts to hold back China’s reunification will invariably fail.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.