BEIJING (Reuters) – China has imposed sanctions on US defense firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies over arms sales to Taiwan.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said this on Monday, without giving any details about the type of punitive measures. The sanctions are countermeasures against the two companies over a $100 million arms sale on February 7. The deal seriously undermines China’s security interests, China-US relations “and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” it said at a press conference. Both companies have long been involved in US arms sales to “China’s Taiwan region.”
It is the first time US defense firms have faced sanctions under China’s new anti-foreign sanctions law, enacted in 2021 in response to US sanctions against Chinese companies. On at least two previous occasions – in 2019 and 2020 – China has announced sanctions against Lockheed and Raytheon. However, the government in Beijing did not explain what these sanctions entail or how they were enforced. The US does not sell arms to China, but is required by a 1979 law to provide Taiwan with means of self-defense.
China regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and has increased military and diplomatic pressure on the island off mainland China over the past two years. Its government always emphasizes that it wants peace, but will defend the island in the event of an attack. China considers Taiwan to be the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the US. These are further strained by conflicts over trade policy and human rights issues.
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