China Threatens to ‘Smash’ Taiwan Independence in Response to Anticipated $500M U.S. Arms Package

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army spokesman said China would “resolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence,” responding to questions about Washington’s plans to send Taiwan $500 million in weapons in the near future, the Associated Press reported.

Chinese defense-ministry spokesman Tan Kefei, a colonel in the PLA, leveled the latest threat Tuesday in response to questions from journalists about reports that the Biden administration would provide Taiwan the weapons through an expedited procedure and send 100 U.S. service members to help the Taiwanese build up their defenses.

Tan suggested that any U.S. attempts to arm Taiwan would be viewed as a challenge to China’s territorial integrity. According to the AP, he said the PLA “continues to strengthen military training and preparations and will resolutely smash any form of Taiwanese independence secession along with attempts at outside interference and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Following reports about the expected arms transfer, the Pentagon confirmed the plan publicly for the first time this week. Bloomberg and Reuters had initially revealed the expected $500 million defense package earlier this month, reporting that officials designed it to circumvent the delay affecting a $19 billion weapons delivery to Taiwan.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. would soon arm Taiwan through the special fast-track procedure in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins.

“You are correct. We are working on that initiative, and we hope to have an action forthcoming here in the near term,” he said, adding that the Pentagon would seek funding from Congress to refill U.S. stocks depleted by the expected transfer of weapons to Taiwan.

Unlike the delayed arms sales, the expected fast-track transfer would rely on the same emergency transfer mechanism employed by the U.S. to send arms to Ukraine. Congress authorized the use of that procedure, called presidential drawdown authority, for Taiwan in last year’s defense-policy bill for the first time.

During the same Senate hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern that Beijing “no long seems to accept the status quo in Taiwan and has been taking steps of various kinds to increase the pressure to force Taiwan and to contemplate perhaps the use of force at some point in the future.”