China Slaps Sanctions on Five American Companies Connected to Weapons Sales to Taiwan
Jose Nino
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As countermeasures against US’ arms sales to China’s Taiwan region and the country’s sanctions on Chinese entities, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 7, 2024 that the Chinese government slapped sanctions on five US defense companies as measures taken in response to the US government’s weapon sales to Taiwan.
These sanction moves consisted of freezing movable and immovable assets and other kinds of property held within China, in addition to banning organizations and individuals within China from carrying out transactions, cooperating, and engaging in other activities with these companies.
These latest sanctions are viewed as the most recent set of countermeasures used against the US for its increasingly hostile military actions with respect to Taiwan. As China grows stronger, it has responded with increased military moves to counter the US’s hegemonic position in Asia
Alluding to a press release from the Defense Department, Reuters reported that the US State Department gave the green light to a $300 million sale of equipment to help upkeep Taiwan’s tactical information systems.
The Defense Department’ Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the sale was for maintaining the Taiwan’s Command, Control, Communications and Computers, or C4, capabilities, while the Taiwanese defense authority asserts that the sale would help keep the effectiveness of its joint combat command and control systems in place so that it can optimize battlefield awareness, per the Reuters report.
In a statement that Chinese Foreign Ministry put out on January 7, it stated “The US arms sales to China’s Taiwan region in blatant violation of the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US joint communiqués, particularly the August 17 joint communiqué of 1982, and the illegal unilateral sanctions the US has imposed on Chinese companies and individuals under various false pretexts seriously harm China’s sovereignty and security interests, undermine the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, and violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made solemn démarches to the US.
“In response to these gravely wrong actions taken by the US and in accordance with China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, China has decided to sanction five US defense industry companies, namely BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operation, AeroVironment, ViaSat and Data Link Solutions. The countermeasures consist of freezing the properties of those companies in China, including their movable and immovable property, and prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from transactions and cooperation with them,” the ministry added.
“I would like to stress that the Chinese government remains unwavering in our resolve to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens. We urge the United States to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, observe international law and the basic norms governing international relations, stop arming Taiwan, and stop targeting China with illegal unilateral sanctions. Otherwise there will be strong and resolute response from China,” the statement outlined.
The sanctions announced on January 7 represent a more heavy-handed punishment for these American companies, such as freezing the companies’ movable and immovable assets and other types of property held in China.
Part of the US’s long-term escalation strategy against China is to ramp up its arms sales to Taiwan, which has prompted China to gradually push back.
On a previous occasion, China imposed sanctions on Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. Now China is starting to sanction smaller defense companies in order to send a firm message to the US defense sector that it should not try to turn Taiwan as a battering ram against China.
Such tensions will only magnify as the US continues its pivot to Asia. This is a geopolitical disaster in the making. The US can avert this disaster if it exercises realism and restraint when it comes to foreign affairs, while also acknowledging that China is an antagonistic actor by restricting immigration from there and decoupling trade from China.
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