Non-Subscriber Extract
China demands US stop Taiwanese Patriot 2 upgrade
By Jon Grevatt
15 November 2007
China has again called on the United States to cancel immediately plans to sell military equipment to Taiwan.
The US Defense Security Co-operation Agency notified Congress late last week of a possible sale to Taiwan of Patriot 2 upgrade systems and associated equipment worth up to USD939 million.
Speaking through China's state-run media on 13 November, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao said that China "firmly opposes" the potential deal, adding that Beijing had already communicated its "strong objection" to Washington.
Liu was quoted as saying that the sale proposal had "rudely interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security and peaceful unification, and disturbed the improvement and development of China-US relations".