Currently, the United States is Taiwan’s main arms supplier.

On Friday, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced new sanctions against three U.S. defense companies for selling weapons to Taiwan.

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“These sales severely damage sovereignty and security interests,” Chinese diplomats said, referring to the companies Edge Autonomy Operations, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Skydio.

The sanctions include freezing these companies’ assets in China and banning both organizations and individuals in the Asian country from conducting transactions or cooperating with them. China also sanctioned ten executives from other defense companies, barring them from entering the country.

Previously, in May, Beijing also sanctioned 12 U.S. military companies and senior executives for the same reason and in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on Chinese entities over the war in Ukraine, which Beijing said “violated the legitimate rights of Chinese institutions and individuals.”

Later, at the end of June, China announced sanctions against several companies within the Lockheed Martin group and their executives after the U.S. approved the sale of a combat drone system and loitering munitions. In September, China also sanctioned nine U.S. companies after the U.S. Department of State approved the potential sale of military spare parts to Taiwan, estimated to be worth US$228 million.

On that occasion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) detailed that Taiwan’s representative office in the U.S. requested the “return purchase, repair, and forwarding of classified and unclassified aircraft parts and related equipment,” as well as “engineering, technical, and logistical support services” from Washington and U.S. contractors.

Taiwan, a territory to which the Nationalist Army retreated after its defeat in the civil war, has been self-governed since 1949, though China claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebellious province and has not ruled out using force for its “reunification.”

The Taiwan issue is one of the main points of friction between Beijing and Washington, as the United States is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and may defend the island in the event of conflict.

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE

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