China warns Taiwan's "independence" efforts will fail, urges US to halt support

Beijing warned Monday that the delivery of American Abrams tanks to Taiwan will not help the island achieve "independence".

"Taiwanese authorities’ plans to achieve "independence" through force and foreign support are bound to fail," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a briefing,News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"China will firmly defend its national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," the spokesman noted.

He stressed that Beijing's position on military relations between Washington and Taipei, as well as the sale of American arms to the island, is unequivocal and clear. China calls on the United States to respect the one-China principle, cease arming Taiwan, and stop supporting forces advocating for the island's "independence", Lin Jian added.

Earlier, the Taiwanese defense ministry reported that the first batch of 38 Abrams M1A2T tanks had arrived on the island. The sale of 108 Abrams M1A2T tanks to Taiwan for $2.2 billion was approved by the US State Department in 2019. The M1A2T is a modified version of the M1A2 main battle tank, tailored to Taiwan's specific requirements, based on the SEPv2 (System Enhancement Package version 2) configuration.

Currently, Taiwan's tank fleet consists of 1,000 combat vehicles, most of which are outdated models.

News.Az