Beijing slapped sanctions on a pair of US defense giants on Friday in response to US weapons sales to Taiwan.
The move comes as tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to escalate over growing US support for Taiwan. This week, the Senate advanced a bill proposing billions of dollars in new security assistance to the island. The bill also calls for Taiwan to classified as a ‘major non-NATO ally’, in violation of Sino-US treaties on diplomatic ties.
“To defend China’s sovereignty and security interests, the Chinese government has decided to sanction Gregory J. Hayes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon Technologies Corporation, and Theodore Colbert III., President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, who were involved in the latest arms sale,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a briefing Thursday.
Mao urged the US government and companies to abide by the One China principle and the provisions of Sino-US communiques on relations, to halt arms sales and scrap military contacts with Taipei, and to “stop creating factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait.”
“China will continue to take all necessary measures in light of the situation to firmly defend is own sovereignty and security interests,” the spokeswoman stressed.
The restrictions were enforced less than 24 hours after State Department spokesman Ned Price announced that the Biden administration would “continue” to deepen the US-Taiwan “partnership” through “effective diplomatic, economic and military support.”
China-US tensions over Taiwan experienced a fresh escalation on Wednesday after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced controversial draft legislation called the ‘Taiwan Policy Act of 2022.’
Read More: Beijing Slaps Sanctions on Raytheon, Boeing Execs Over Taiwan Arms Sales
