China opposes US arms sales after Taiwan receives F-16V jets

China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reiterated its firm opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan after the self-ruled island received the first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 fighter jets from Washington. The two aircraft arrived Friday at Chihhang Air Base in eastern Taitung after departing from Hawaii and stopping in Guam, according to the official Anadolu news agency. "China's position is clear. We remain firmly opposed to US arms sales to China's Taiwan region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in a written statement issued late Tuesday.

'Internal affair'

"Taiwan question is China's internal affair," Guo added. "Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese ourselves that brooks no external interference," he said when asked about US officials' assessments regarding the security situation across the Taiwan Strait. The spokesman urged Washington to implement the important common understandings reached at the presidential level, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and act prudently on the Taiwan question.

2019 deal and spy case

The sale of the 66 F-16Vs and related equipment was approved by the US administration in 2019 for approximately $8 billion, representing a significant upgrade to Taipei's air defense capabilities amid persistent tensions with Beijing. On the arrest of a California woman by the FBI on Sunday for allegedly spying on a son of Taiwan's leader William Lai Ching-te, Guo rejected the accusations. "I am not familiar with what you mentioned. China opposes vilifying China by peddling the so-called 'Chinese spy' narrative," he said.

Wanying Zhang, also known as "Heather," 34, of Irvine, was apprehended by the FBI's Los Angeles field office on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of China, according to court documents. She was detained at Los Angeles International Airport as she was attempting to leave for China on Sunday, according to the bureau.