By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) – China Wednesday said it is “deeply concerned” over reports that the Trump administration has released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including $870 million designated for military assistance, to Taiwan.
Beijing has always “opposed US military assistance to China’s Taiwan region, which has severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, undermined China’s sovereignty and security interests, and sent a gravely wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a news conference.
Lin said Beijing urged the US to “stop arming Taiwan and undermining the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
China will “closely” monitor the situation and “firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” said the spokesman.
China considers Taiwan, which has maintained its independence since 1949, as its "breakaway" province.
The Trump administration, following suggestions from US tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had initiated the shutdown of USAID’s operations domestically and internationally.
The move has led to widespread disruptions in global aid programs, affecting non-governmental organizations and media organizations that rely on the agency's funding.