US bill boosting military ties with Taiwan irks China

Beijing/Taipei, Dec 14 :  China on Thursday accused Washington of interfering in its internal affairs after US President Donald Trump ratified a bill to strengthen military ties with Taiwan.

Trump earlier this week had approved the National Defence Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2018, which looks to boost military cooperation with Taiwan, including mutual visits by Navy ships and joint military drills.

"We are firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges or military links between Taiwan and the US," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference.

He added that Beijing has lodged a formal complaint over the measure that seriously violated the "One China principle", according to which the only recognized government of Taiwan was in Beijing, Efe news reported.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Lee told the Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee of the Parliament on Thursday that the US government had approved the Congress decision to support high-level military ties and docking of naval vessels in Taiwanese ports.

Reacting to a Chinese diplomat's statement in Washington -- in which he said the Chinese military will unify Taiwan with military force if a US warship docked at the Kaohsiung port in Taiwan -- Lee called it "unbelievable" and "counterproductive".

Taiwan has been a constant source of tension between China and the US, which has been the traditional guarantor of Taipei's security and its chief supplier of arms and defence equipment.