China - missile defence tests

China tests missiles amid rift over US arms sales to Taiwan

Article published on the 2010-01-12 Latest update 2010-01-12 11:27 TU

Chinese tensions of US armes sale to Taiwan
(Photo: Lockheed Martin Corporation)

China has successfully tested an anti-missile defence system just days after the US approved the sale of missile equipment to Taiwan. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said the test was defensive in nature and was not targeted at any other country.

The news comes soon after a US official in Taipei said the Pentagon had approved the sale of Patriot missile equipment to Taiwan as part of a package passed by Congress more than a year ago.

China warned at the weekend that it reserved the right to take unspecified action if Washington followed through with the sale, which it described as a "severe obstacle" to China-US military ties.

Beijing considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the arms sales, urging Washington to cancel the deal.

The US is the leading arms supplier to Taiwan, although it switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979,

China's military spending rose 15.3 per cent in 2009 to 69 billion dollars according to the latest budget figures. This was the latest in more than a decade-long string of double-digit increases.