China says the United States is putting bilateral ties at risk with its recent overtures to Taiwan. A spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry told reporters Thursday that Washington should "speak and act cautiously" following the $6.4 billion arms deal between the U.S. and Taiwan.   Beijing has threatened to suspend all military exchanges with the U.S., and impose sanctions on U.S.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry says Somali pirates have freed a Taiwanese fishing boat held since last April. The Win Far 161 and its crew were released Thursday.   The French news agency, AFP, quotes a maritime monitoring group - Ecoterra International - as saying a ransom was paid, but the amount was not immediately clear. The group also says three of the 30 crew members did not survive the ordeal.

China has stepped up its criticism of the latest U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. The $6.4-billion arms package -- announced Friday -- has already prompted Beijing to suspend military exchanges and security talks with Washington, and threaten sanctions against U.S.

China is warning the United States that the recently announced sale of air defense missiles to Taiwan could damage trust between Washington and Beijing, and that further protests might follow.  China has called on the United States to end all arms sales to the island, but the missile deal is one of several advanced weapons systems that are likely to be approved by the U.S. Congress in the coming months. The planned U.S. sale of Patriot air defense missiles to Taiwan is part of a larger package of high-end military hardware that originally was approved by former U.S. president George W.