Taiwan Photo: VCG

A senior US official on East Asia affairs claimed during a Congress hearing on Thursday that a pending arms sale notification to Congress for China's Taiwan island does not hinge on discussions with China, reaffirming the so-called "Six Assurances" from the US to the island. A Chinese expert noted that remarks made by state department official during congressional hearings reflect deep influence of US bureaucratic system, and further reinforce the US Congress' role as a disruptor and spoiler in Washington's China policy, undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the broader region. 

Asked during a House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee hearing to confirm that a decision on whether to advance the weapons sale did not depend on talks with Beijing, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre said: "Correct," Reuters reported. 

DeSombre claimed ‌that the Six Assurances still guided US policy, but he did not give a timeline for a decision on the arms package, which he said was still under review by the US government, per Reuters. 

In wrapping up his recent visit to China, the US President Donald Trump claimed in a Fox News interview that arms sales to the island are a very good negotiation chip in the US' dealing with the US-China relations, AP reported in May. 

For a long time, the US Congress has been heavily influenced by lobbying groups in Taiwan island and has sought to turn the Taiwan question into a matter of US domestic politics, a Chinese expert on the China-US relations who preferred not to be identified told the Global Times on Friday. 

Remarks made by a State Department official during congressional hearings reflect the deep influence of the US bureaucratic system and domestic politics. In order to secure congressional confirmation, relevant officials are often compelled to align themselves with Congress' position on Taiwan-related issues. This, in turn, further reinforces the US Congress' role as a disruptor and spoiler in Washington's China policy, undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the broader region, the expert said. 

China's opposition to any official exchanges between the US and China's Taiwan region and the US' arms sales to Taiwan is consistent, clear and rock-firm, Guo Jiakun, spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told at a press conference on May 21 in response to a question about the US' arms sale to the island. 

China urges the US to implement the important common understandings between our two leaders, honor its commitments and statements, exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question, stop sending any wrong message to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, and safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits as well as the momentum of steady development of China-US relations with concrete actions, Guo said.