TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

“No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the … Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office.

“Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement said.

China’s People’s Liberation Army has increased its military maneuvers in recent years aimed at Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships to circle the island.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it tracked six Chinese navy ships near the island.

Taiwan’s ruling administration, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, has stepped up its weapons purchases from the U.S. as part of a deterrence strategy against a Chinese invasion.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Taiwan has never been governed by China’s ruling Communist Party.

Unlike previous military purchases, the latest batch of aid is part of a presidential authority approved by the U.S. Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles — so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales.

While Taiwan has purchased $19 billion worth of weaponry, much of it has yet to be delivered to Taiwan. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to Taiwan.

  • awwwyissss@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    The island is already unified, they very clearly reject the CCPs authoritarian, violent demands.

    Fuck the CCP, Taiwan is a free country.

  • Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Ah yes, giving military aid to Taiwan is turning it into a powder keg and aggravating the threat of war. Firing missile into the ocean all around Taiwan is just a calm and rational thing to do to help ease tensions in the region.

    Fuck off CCP.

    • TheDeadGuy@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Yeah Taiwan has had independence far too long for them to accept being swept into the Chinese system.

      A lot of hypocritical trolling in this thread. Tankie lemmy?

      • gornar@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        And look what happened yo Hong Kong after “promises” anyway! A reasonable person would expect the same treatment or worse for Taiwan

      • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        They were never really “dependent” to begin with. It was a split, and Taiwan is what remains of the OG Chinese Government. They’re kind of MORE legit that the CCP.

  • UlrikHD@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    Taiwan would never attack China, the only way a war between China and Taiwan happens is if China invades Taiwan.

    China saying this increases the “risk” of war is nothing but doublespeak.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      1 year ago

      If anything decreases the risk of War as in it decreases the likelihood China will do anything.

      Them complaining about it is actually a sign of that the determined is working.

  • kokiriflute@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Imperialist China wants to take more land by force.

    We should continue to stand up for the sovereign rights of any country being bullied by a larger country.

      • ArxCyberwolf@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        B-but America did bad things in the past, so that makes it totally and completely okay for everyone else to do the same!

        • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          “Before you have an opinion about geopolitics, make sure you’re not from the most powerful country on earth.”

          Normal internet opinions

    • rustyfish@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      They won’t do anything. The Chinese government is terrified by Taiwan. So sadly the Russians are the only ones who enter the „finding out“.

      • Zaktor@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        So sadly the Russians are the only ones who enter the „finding out“.

        Counterpoint: It’s not sad that there isn’t going to be a war, whether or not it might be humiliating to an authoritarian regime.

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      They have an overabundance of men thanks to their stupid one child policy. The easiest way to correct their population numbers is to start a war to kill a bunch of the excess men.

      • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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        1 year ago

        China’s population is actually in danger of the opposite extreme, that is, a population crash. They have a very large population currently, and probably will always be on the larger side, but the policy you mentioned, and the fact that it was continued longer than it had any utility, among other things, means that their birth rate is unsustainably low, in the long term, similarly to how Japan’s somewhat famously is. Beyond the normal dangers going to war poses to a country, like retaliatory action and economic disruption, losing any sizable fraction of it’s young labor force right before having a huge fraction of it’s population enter retirement age would be to take a bad situation and make it much worse. While having a significantly higher number of men than women might mean that there is a population of men whos absence would not affect the fertility rate, those people still contribute to the pool of talent and labor in the country.

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        They have an underabundance of men, and a severe underabundance of women. Their demographics are looking terrible either way.

        Edit: here’s the population pyramid, doesn’t look very pyramidal

        China population over time

  • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    If course they say that, they don’t want aid going to Tiwan, so make people think it won’t help. You can’t rely on an opposing parties appraisal of what it’s response is going to be, since they have massive insensitive to bluff.

    Edit: here’s the population pyramid, doesn’t look very pyramidal

    China population over time

  • Zengen@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is a very old blood feud. Taiwan’s government is the former government of mainland China (the republic of China) prior to 1949 communist civil war. The ROC ended the qing dynasty, the longest monarchic dynasty in Chinese history and instituted democracy. When the communists took over the republic of chinas leadership were basically fled and the country and established Taiwan. To the CCP Taiwanistill represents the republic of China, and just like north and south Korea, the CCP is still at war with the republic of China (Taiwan).