China to sanction US companies over arms sale to Taiwan; urges 'stop selling weapons'

China on October 26 said that it has decided to impose sanctions on companies and entities involved in the arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday "strongly condemned" the US' decision and said that China will impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and Raytheon for selling arms worth about $1.8 billion to Taiwan. 

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'Observe one-China policy'

"As China pointed out on multiple occasions, the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan severely violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués and seriously undermine China's sovereignty and security interests. Once again we urge the United States to strictly observe the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués and stop selling weapons to Taiwan or having any military ties with it. We will continue taking necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and security interests," Lijian said during one of his regular press conferences.

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The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency on October 21 released a statement saying the State Department has approved the sale of 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) Missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.008 billion to Taiwan. The US DSCA said that the proposed sale serves the national, economic, and security interests of Washington and will also help improve the security of Taiwan and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance in the region.

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The US State Department has also approved the sale of other military equipment to Taiwan such as the M142 Launcher, M57 Unitary Missiles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), M240B Machine Guns, Low-Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket Pods, M1084A2 cargo Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, Resupply Vehicles, etc. This comes amid Beijing's growing treat and aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea and near the Taiwan Strait, where PLA repeatedly violates the median line and ventures into Taipei's air defence identification zone.

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