US senator reacts to US Taiwan arms sale

(30 Jan 2010) 1. Wide shot of World Economic Forum lobby 2. Medium shot of US Senator Lindsey O. Graham (South Carolina) talking to officials 3. Various of Graham 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Republican, South Carolina: "I do believe in reunification between the Taiwanese people and the people in Taiwan and mainland China, but not at the force of a gun or the threat of invasion. I want to compliment the Obama administration for agreeing to these arms sales. I think people of Taiwan are seeking to reconcile with mainland China but not through the threat of invasion at the force of a gun, and my commitment to the Taiwanese people is not going to change because of mainland China''s action here." 5. Close of World Economic Forum sign 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Republican, South Carolina: "As we do business together, as we try to form partnerships and relationships the one thing that China needs to understand is that you can''t be a good partner unless you''re honest with each other. So my call is for the Chinese government to stop monitoring the internet, human right abuses abound in China, and stop trying to reconcile through the force of arms with the threat of invasion with Taiwan." 7. Wide of Graham with officials STORYLINE: China suspended military exchanges with the United States, threatened unprecedented sanctions against American defence companies and warned on Saturday that cooperation would suffer after Washington announced 6.4 (b) billion dollars in planned arms sales to Taiwan. The response to Friday''s US announcement, while not entirely unexpected, was swift and indicated that China plans to put up a greater challenge than usual as it deals with the most sensitive topic in US-China relations. US Republican Senator Lindsey O. Graham, who has worked on US-Chinese trade agreements, was in Davos for the World Economic Forum on Saturday. He reacted to the Chinese response saying: "I want to compliment the Obama administration for agreeing to these arms sales. I think people of Taiwan are seeking to reconcile with mainland China but not through the threat of invasion at the force of a gun, and my commitment to the Taiwanese people is not going to change because of mainland China''s action here." China''s Defence Ministry said the arms sales to self-governing Taiwan, which the mainland claims as its own, cause "severe harm" to overall U.S.-China cooperation, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Tensions were already high after recent US comments on internet freedom and a dispute between Google and China, as well as President Barack Obama''s plan to meet with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama this year. Graham said: "As we do business together, as we try to form partnerships and relationships the one thing that China needs to understand is that you can''t be a good partner unless you''re honest with each other. So my call is for the Chinese government to stop monitoring the internet, human right abuses abound in China, and stop trying to reconcile through the force of arms with the threat of invasion with Taiwan." The United States is Taiwan''s most important ally and largest arms supplier, and it''s bound by law to ensure the island is able to respond to Chinese threats. China responds angrily to any proposed arms sales, however, and it also cut off military ties with the US in 2008 after the former Bush administration announced a multi-billion dollar arms sale to Taiwan. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...