Taipei [Taiwan], September 18 : China has said it will take countermeasures against nine US military-industrial companies in response to the announcement of arms sales to Taiwan, Taiwan News reported.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, these countermeasures will be implemented in two parts. Firstly, the ministry will freeze all real estate and properties owned by these US firms within China. Secondly, the companies will be prohibited from conducting any transactions or activities with domestic organisations and individuals in China.
Chinese MFA also shared a post on X opposing the US arms sales to Taiwan.
"China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the US arms sales to Taiwan and has protested to the US. As a countermeasure, China has announced sanctions against 9 US military companies," the Chinese MFA said on X.
According to a foreign ministry statement, the nine US companies that will face countermeasures from Beijing are Sierra Nevada Corporation, Stick Rudder Enterprises LLC, Cubic Corporation, S3 AeroDefense, Teko TCOM, Limited Partnership, TextOre, Planate Management Group, ACT1 Federal, and Exovera.
The countermeasures came after the US announced on September 16 the approval of a possible sale of aircraft spare parts to Taiwan for USD 228 million (NT 7.26 billion), as per Taiwan News.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said the weapons will help maintain combat readiness as China's gray-zone tactics exert pressure on its air and maritime borders.
China condemned the US weapons sale, saying it violated the "one-China principle" and the three Sino-US joint communiques, and "interfered with China's internal affairs and damaged its sovereignty and territorial integrity." Under the "anti-foreign sanctions law," China said it would take countermeasures against the nine US companies.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects, Al Jazeera reported.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but has remained Taiwan's most important partner and its biggest arms supplier, sparking repeated condemnations from China.
According to Al Jazeera, Beijing and Washington have repeatedly butted heads in recent years on a range of other issues related to trade, access to advanced technology, and China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
White House aide Jake Sullivan met high-ranking Chinese military official Zhang Youxia last month during the first visit to China by a US national security adviser since 2016. Zhang warned during that meeting that the status of the self-ruled island was "the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations demanding that the United States "halts military collusion with Taiwan."
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