Taiwan says the arms deal will make it feel more secure The US has defended a proposed weapons sale to Taiwan following a furious response from China. The US State Department said on Saturday that the sale contributed to "security and stability" between Taiwan and China, Reuters reported. Beijing announced a series of moves against the US in retaliation for the proposed $6.4bn (£4bn) sale. Ties between the two countries are already strained by rows over trade and internet censorship. ANALYSIS Damian Grammaticas, BBC News, Beijing You would expect China to react angrily to any proposed arms sale to Taiwan, but this time it seems to be going further than before. Suspending military exchanges is a classic reply from Beijing and it may not even concern the US too much. China's threat to impose sanctions on US firms supplying arms to Taiwan is interesting if perplexing. It's unclear what "sanctions" would involve in practice, since US firms aren't allowed to sell arms to China China's threat to withdraw co-operation on key international and regional issues is the most serious one. Here China can make life difficult for Washington. It can complicate US attempts to deal with nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea, it can refuse to help in currency and trade issues. But what is China trying to achieve by sounding so furious? Maybe Beijing's real aim is to try to deter America from future arms sales - for example the fighter jets and submarines which Taiwan really wants. "Such sales contribute to maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said US State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler, quoted by Reuters. The US is the leading arms supplier to Taiwan and has a treaty obligation to provide it with defensive arms. 'Severe harm' Beijing said it would suspend military exchanges with the US, review co-operation on major issues and impose sanctions on companies selling arms. However, the US - like the EU - has banned its companies selling arms to China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, so it was not clear what effect Chinese sanctions would have. Chinese defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said the measures reflected the "severe harm" posed by the deal. A foreign ministry spokesman said the arms deal would have "repercussions that neither side wishes to see". Difficult ties Taiwan and China have been ruled by separate governments since the end of a civil war in 1949. Beijing has hundreds of missiles pointed at the island and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control if Taiwan moved towards formal independence. Defence ties between Washington and Beijing have been on ice for several years because of differences over Taiwan, though the two countries' leaders pledged to improve them in 2009. TAIWAN-CHINA RELATIONS Ruled by separate governments since end of Chinese civil war in 1949 China considers the island part of its territory China has offered a "one country, two systems" solution, like Hong Kong Most people in Taiwan support status quo
Guide to Taiwan flashpoint US-Taiwan arms deal: Your views Taiwan, meanwhile, welcomed the US move. "It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China," the Central News Agency quoted President Ma Ying-jeou as saying. The Pentagon earlier notified the US Congress of the proposed arms sale, which forms part of a package first pledged by the Bush administration. Friday's notification to Congress by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) was required by law. It does not mean the sale has been concluded. US lawmakers have 30 days to comment on the proposed sale, Associated Press reported. If there are no objections, it would proceed. PROPOSED ARMS SALE 114 Patriot missiles ($2.81bn) 60 Black Hawk helicopters ($3.1bn) Communication equipment ($340m) 2 Osprey mine-hunting ships ($105m) 12 Harpoon missiles ($37m) Source: Defense Security Co-operation Agency The arms package includes 114 Patriot missiles, 60 Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet, the agency said in a statement. It does not include F-16 fighter jets, which Taiwan's military has been seeking. Last week US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered Beijing with a call to China to investigate cyber attacks on search giant Google, after the company said email accounts of human rights activists had been hacked.
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China has stated that they will cease all military exchanges with the United States in response to a  weapons deal with Taiwan going ahead. He Yafei, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister, said that there would be a "serious negative impact" with regards to the relationship between the US and China.

Taiwan and mainland China have been ruled by separate governments since 1949, and neither recognize each other's independence. In an effort to regain control of Taiwan, the government in Beijing has been open to running the island like Hong Kong, in a "one country, two systems" manner, but people in Taiwan support the status quo. The Chinese defense ministry said that they had "decided to suspend planned mutual military visits". They "strongly demand" that the United States "respect the Chinese side's interests," calling for the proposal to be rejected.

China summoned the US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, to warn the US Government about the consequences, and to urge for cancellation of the deal. The Pentagon proposed the deal, that was first promised during the later days of the Bush administration, to Congress earlier.

Yafei issued a statement on the Foreign Ministry website stating that "the United States' announcement of the planned weapons sales to Taiwan will have a seriously negative impact on many important areas of exchanges and co-operation between the two countries."

However, the US is defending itself. "Such sales contribute to maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait", Laura Tischler, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said.

Beijing is threatening to review co-operation on major issues and impose sanctions on companies selling arms, even though US companies are banned from selling arms to China as a result of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, so it is not clear what the effect will be. A Chinese defence ministry spokesman said that the sanctions reflected the "severe harm" the deal would have. A foreign ministry spokesman stated that there would be "repercussions that neither side wishes to see" if the deal went ahead.

Taiwan, one of Asia's few functioning democracies, welcomed the proposal, with Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou being quoted as saying "It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China."

The arms deal includes UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, communications equipment and MIM-104 Patriot missiles, but does not include the F-16 fighter jets that Taiwan's military were looking for. The US is legally obliged to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act 1979.

In 2003, an unnamed US briefing stated that "the US would have to get involved if China tried to use coercion or force to unilaterally change the status of Taiwan".