US arms sales to Taiwan violate ‘one China’ principle, Beijing says after drone report

The United States should stop arms sales to Taiwan to avoid affecting bilateral relations, China’s Foreign Ministry has said. The US arms sales seriously violate the “one China” principle, Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Friday.

Washington is negotiating the sale of at least four sophisticated aerial drones to Taiwan, as previously reported by Reuters.

The Sea Guardian surveillance drones have a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,100 km), far greater than the 160-mile range of Taiwan’s current fleet of drones.

The sale of the unmanned aerial vehicles has been tacitly authorized by the State Department, according to sources. However, it is not clear whether US officials have approved exporting the drones with weapons attached.