China must 'forcefully counter' US arms sales to Taiwan: FM

BEIJING: Beijing’s top diplomat said Tuesday that China would “forcefully counter” large-scale US weapons sales to Taiwan, as its military kicked off a second day of live-fire drills around the island.

“In response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the large-scale US arms sales to Taiwan, we must of course, resolutely oppose and forcefully counter them,” foreign minister Wang Yi said in a speech in Beijing.

Wang’s comments came just over an hour after China’s military said it conducted “long-range live fire drills in the waters to the north of the Taiwan Island”.

China claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has refused to rule out using military action to seize the island democracy.

Speaking at an annual international relations symposium in Beijing, Wang added that any attempt to obstruct China’s unification with Taiwan “will inevitably end in failure”.