China sanctions American Lockheed Martin for arms sales to Taiwan

June 21. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Chinese authorities have imposed sanctions against the American company Lockheed Martin in response to the signing of a sales agreement with Taiwan, as announced this Friday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Beijing has thus accused Washington of “re-announcing the sale of arms to the Chinese region of Taiwan, which represents a serious violation of the ‘one China’ principle” with which the Asian giant governs its domestic policy.

Likewise, he has regretted that the United States incurs in “continuous violations” of the three Sino-American declarations agreed upon in the past and continues to “meddle in the internal affairs” of the country, which “damages Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“China has decided to take action against the relevant divisions and senior management of Lockheed Martin,” the Ministry said in a statement in which it clarified that the affected entities are Lockheed Martin Missile System Integration Lab, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories and Lockheed Martin Ventures.

The measure comes just two days after the US Government approved the sale of a new aid package to Taiwan valued at 360.2 million dollars (about 335.3 million euros), which includes the sale of two types of combat drones with a view to “containing” a possible invasion of the island by China.

This package includes 720 ‘Switchblade 300’ and 101 ‘SB300 FCS’ kamikaze drones, among other unmanned aerial vehicles. The latter constitute air weapons systems that operate in a “prowling” manner, flying over the target to be shot down but attacking only when it has been fixed.

On June 7, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang stressed that US arms sales to Taiwan “represent a serious violation of the ‘one China’ principle since Beijing considers the island another province under its sovereignty.” .