Mainland slams Taiwan budget to buy US arms

A Chinese mainland spokeswoman on Wednesday reaffirmed the mainland's firm opposition to military collusion between the United States and Taiwan, emphasizing its unwavering determination to achieve national reunification.

Zhang Han, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, reiterated the mainland's consistent stance against US arms sales to the island during a regular news briefing on Wednesday.

She made the remarks in response to Taiwan's latest special "defense" budget bill, describing the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' attempts to seek "independence" and resist reunification through military means under the guise of "defense and security" as "malicious".

Zhang accused the DPP authorities of squandering the "hard-earned money" of Taiwan people by acting as a "cash machine" for the US, warning that such military spending harms the interests of people in Taiwan and undermines cross-Strait stability.

"Our determination to resolve the Taiwan question and achieve national reunification is as solid as rock, and our capability is unshakable," she said, calling national reunification "an unstoppable trend".

On Friday, the island's "legislative yuan", where opposition parties hold a majority of seats, approved the special "defense" budget bill with a NT$780 billion ($25 billion) ceiling.

The approved amount is significantly lower than the NT$1.25 trillion package originally proposed by the DPP authorities for US arms purchases and "defense" capacity building over eight years. The DPP argued the cuts could create "defense gaps" and ignore US security warnings.

Zhang dismissed such concerns, noting that weapon purchases are "futile and self-destructive" and will only "accelerate the downfall" of secessionist movements.

Addressing questions about the summit between the leaders of China and the US, Zhang said the Taiwan question is China's internal affair and resolving it is a matter for the Chinese people.

"We firmly oppose the US engaging in any form of military ties with China's Taiwan region, and firmly oppose US arms sales to Taiwan," she stressed.