BEIJING – China’s response to the latest round of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is to sanction five U.S. military manufacturers, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday.
This move comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to rise over the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. China considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory, while Taiwan’s government rejects this claim.
The timing of these sanctions is significant, as they come just ahead of Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections. China has framed these elections as a choice between war and peace.
Last month, the U.S. State Department approved a $300 million sale of equipment to help maintain Taiwan’s tactical information systems, further escalating the situation.
The spokesperson’s statement emphasized that the recent arms sales “seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, seriously jeopardise peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
The companies that will be sanctioned are BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Alliant Techsystems Operations, AeroVironment, Viasat, and Data Link Solutions.
As part of the sanctions, China will freeze the assets of these companies and ban people or organizations in China from engaging with them, the spokesperson added.
At the time of this announcement, the U.S. embassy in Beijing had not yet responded to a request for comment.
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