Beijing hits back after Biden White House seeks US$100 million to boost Taiwan’s cross-strait deterrence
- Request for 2025 budget is ‘historic investment in Taiwan’s security’, US State Department says, as Pentagon seeks US$500 million in arms support
- Foreign ministry in Beijing ‘strongly opposes’ US efforts to arm Taiwan, vows ‘resolute measures’ to safeguard sovereignty
The stand-alone request for the 2025 budget was a “historic investment in Taiwan’s security … [to] strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, the US Department of State said.
In a separate funding request, the Defence Department sought US$500 million under the US Pacific Deterrence Initiative to replenish weapons that would help self-ruled Taiwan “address aggression in the region”, according to budget documents released in Washington on Monday.
In a sharply worded response on Tuesday, the foreign ministry in Beijing said it “strongly opposed” US efforts to arm Taiwan.
“China will take resolute measures to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
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Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory, to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, like most countries, does not recognise the island as independent but is opposed to any forcible change to the status quo and is committed to arming it.
