China slaps sanctions on Lockheed Martin over Taiwan deal

Beijing, July 14

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China on Tuesday announced sanctions on top American arms manufacturing firm Lockheed Martin in retaliation to the US State Department’s approval of a request by Taiwan for the recertification of PAC-3 air defence missiles built by the company.

“China firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan. We urge US to earnestly abide by the One-China principle, stop selling arms to Taiwan and cut its military ties with Taiwan, so that it will not cause further harm to bilateral ties, peace and security across the Taiwan straits,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here.

His remarks comes days after the US State Department last week approved Taiwan’s request for the recertification of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defence missiles at an estimated cost of USD 620 million.

In a statement on Thursday, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said Congress had already been notified of the possible sale. According to US media reports quoting DSCA, Taiwan has asked to buy parts to refurbish its PAC-3 missiles to support an operational life of 30 years. Lockheed Martin Corporation is the main contractor for the deal.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing will impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin in retaliation. — PTI

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