BEIJING - China has lodged serious protests to the United States following the US' latest military assistance and arms sales to the Taiwan region, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, urging the US to stop undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The spokesperson made the remarks in an online statement on Sunday, after the White House announced military assistance worth $571.3 million to Taiwan, and the US Department of Defense announced that the State Department has approved $295 million worth of arms sales to the region.

By once again approving military assistance and arms sales to China's Taiwan region, the US has seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, especially the August 17 Communiqué of 1982 and China's sovereignty and security interests, the spokesperson said.

"The decision is a severe breach of the US leaders' commitment of not supporting 'Taiwan independence,' and sends a gravely wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," the spokesperson said. "China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it and lodged serious protests at once with the US."

Noting that the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations, the spokesperson said that to aid "Taiwan independence" by arming Taiwan is "like playing with fire and will get the US burned".

"Any attempt to use the Taiwan question to contain China is doomed to fail," the spokesperson said, adding that China will take all measures necessary to firmly defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

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Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the move of the US seriously violates the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique of 1982, going against the solemn commitment of the US leaders not to support "Taiwan independence" and sending a serious wrong signal to separatist forces.

Zhu said that "Taiwan independence" activities and foreign interference pose the biggest threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait.

She urged the US immediately to cease arming Taiwan and handle the Taiwan question with caution.