China announced it was sanctioning Northrop Grumman Corp. and a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. for supplying arms to Taiwan, the latest example of Beijing symbolically showing its displeasure at US support for the island.
(Bloomberg) — China announced it was sanctioning Northrop Grumman Corp. and a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. for supplying arms to Taiwan, the latest example of Beijing symbolically showing its displeasure at US support for the island.
“In accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the PRC, China decided to impose sanctions on these two above-mentioned US defense companies,” said Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday. She used the abbreviation of the country’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China.
Mao said Lockheed Martin has “directly participated in the US arms sales to Taiwan,” while Northrop Grumman “has participated in US arms sales to Taiwan several times.”
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, although it has never had control of the self-ruled island.
The action is likely nothing more than a symbol of China’s unhappiness about the weapon sales, as neither firm has any activities to sanction in China.
Earlier this year, China imposed symbolic fines and sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. Last year, it sanctioned top executives of Boeing Co.’s defense subsidiary and Raytheon.
In August, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced a $500 million sale of equipment for the F-16 fighter jet, which will be supplied by Lockheed Martin in Missouri. Last December, the same agency announced that Northrop Grumman would supply Taiwan with a system to deploy anti-tank mines.
On top of those deals, last month the US State Department announced a package worth as much as $80 million for Taiwan to purchase US weapons. That money could be used to finance the acquisition and refurbishment of armored and infantry vehicles, artillery systems, drones and counter-drone equipment, communications and individual soldier equipment, as well as requisite training, according to the congressional notification.
(Updates with more details on companies and previous Chinese sanctions.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.