BEIJING: China reacted angrily to a $5.85 billion US deal to upgrade Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets on Thursday, summoning the US ambassador and warning the move will undermine relations.
China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, urged the United States to cancel the deal and said it would jeopardise recent improvements in military ties between the two world powers.
But analysts said the deal, which stopped short of selling new planes to Taiwan, would probably not be as damaging as an earlier package that included helicopters and Patriot missiles and led to a break in China-US military exchanges in 2010.
"The wrongdoing by the US side will inevitably undermine bilateral relations as well as exchanges and cooperation in military and security areas," said vice foreign minister Zhang Zhijun.
"China strongly urges the United States to be fully aware of the high sensitivity and serious harm of the issue, seriously treat the solemn stance of China, honour its commitment and immediately cancel the wrong decision."
China's foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador Gary Locke late Wednesday to protest and the defence ministry said it would also call in the acting military attache over the deal, branded a "huge mistake" by China's top newspaper.
"If American politicians feel that the United States can... irresponsibly and randomly damage China's core interests without paying the price, this is a major and huge mistake," the People's Daily said in an editorial.
"We strongly urge the United States to take stock of the situation and correct their error on the issue of Taiwan arms sales policies and practices," said the daily, considered the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, said Beijing had likely learned lessons from the 2010 and would not react as strongly this time.
"They are going to react, to get angry, and the military may take measures to better counter these retrofitted F-16s, but they will not break military ties with the United States like they did before," he told AFP.
"They're (China) in a new phase -- more flexible and accommodating, and with the Taiwanese electoral factor, it reduces their room for manoeuvre a lot and it will force them not to over-react on this."
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang will seek re-election in January and Cabestan said China would be keen not to cause any upsets ahead of the polls.
Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based political analyst, said China's reaction was an exercise in "how to avoid slamming the door while shouting".
"I think that Beijing's outrage has multiple audiences, in particular those at home on the mainland and in Taiwan," he said.
"There are ways in which they could have said hardly anything, but the consensus clearly was -- we'll go into the default mode of being pretty upset and angry, but not like it was a year ago," he added, referring to the 2010 break-off in military ties.
Washington recognises Beijing rather than Taipei but remains a leading arms supplier to the island of 23 million inhabitants, providing a source of continued US-China tension.
Taiwan first lodged a request to buy 66 F-16 C/D fighters -- which have better radar and more powerful weapons systems than its F-16 A/Bs -- in 2007 in response to China's growing military muscle.
The deal to upgrade the existing fleet includes equipment, parts, training and logistical support, but stopped short of selling new planes and is seen by some observers in Taiwan as a consolation prize.
Ties between China and Taiwan have improved since Ma came to power in 2008 on promises of ramping up trade links and allowing in more mainland tourists.
But Beijing has refused to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, even though the island has ruled itself for more than six decades since their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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