How long will US continue arms sales to Taiwan?

China and the United States jointly issued the August 17 Communique on Aug. 17 three decades ago, after reaching consensus on a step-by-step solution to the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

The U.S. government stated in the communique that it "does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and that it intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution."

The August 17 Communique, along with the Shanghai Communique and Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, forms the political foundation for China-U.S. relations.

Exactly 30 years later, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are still eroding China-U.S. relations like a malignant tumor.

The United States has sold more than 7,000 missiles of various types to Taiwan over the past 30 years. Every U.S. sale of advanced weapons to the island is a hard blow to China-U.S. relations.

The United States has made up many excuses for selling weapons to Taiwan, including maintaining "military balance" and "stability" across the Taiwan Strait and helping its "old friend" Taiwan deal with the Chinese mainland with greater confidence.

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