Taiwan Weapons: China Sanctions 2 US Defense Companies

(CTN News) – In response to their arms sales to Taiwan, the China government has banned the entry of senior executives from two U.S. defence companies and frozen their property, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, a company that manufactures unmanned aerial systems, and General Dynamics Land Systems, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, were subjected to the measures effective as of Thursday.

The Chinese government has stated that the arms sales “seriously interfere” with China’s internal affairs and “damage” the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.

There is a serious breach of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three joint communiqués between the United States and when the United States continues to sell arms to Taiwan region.

As a result, China has frozen the firm’s properties in China and banned their senior executives from entering the country.

As a result of the weapons provided to Taiwan by U.S. aerospace and defence companies Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, China imposed sanctions against them last year.

This year, Taiwan will practice “kill” zones at sea so as to break a blockade and simulate repelling an actual attack from the Chinese around the island.

The Chinese government, which views Taiwan as its territory, has been conducting regular exercises around the island for the past four years to pressure Taipei to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taiwan’s strong objections.

It seems that a series of security discussions are taking place between the United States and several countries this week.

As part of the AUKUS security pact, the United States, Britain, and Australia discussed cooperation with Japan, while separately the United States announced that it would change the military command posture in Japan to enable better coordination and enhance deterrence.

As well, the United States will hold a trilateral summit with Japan and the Philippines on Thursday in order to address Beijing’s growing influence over the South China Sea, which has been a major concern for the US for some time now.

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