China threatens sanctions over US jet sale to Taiwan
BEIJING/WASHINGTON: China vowed retaliation against a proposed $8 billion US sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan, threatening to impose sanctions on American firms participating in such a deal.
“China will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests, including imposing sanctions on the US companies involved in the arm sales,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a Wednesday briefing in Beijing. “They constitute severe interference in China’s internal affairs and undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests.”
The 66 advanced Lockheed Martin F-16 jets, approved by the Trump administration, represents a boost for the island’s military - and an even bigger boon for President Tsai Ing Wen as she faces a stiff campaign for re-election.
It marks a major advance for the island’s aging air defence capabilities, even if a base model of the fighter plane has been in its skies for almost half a century.
The US state department formally notified Congress this week that it supports a potential sale of the jets. China, which considers democratically-run Taiwan part of its territory, has long considered such arms sales to the island as a violation of its agreements with the US.
The US committed to providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself when it switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
Beijing had warned against the move even before the Trump administration formalised it.
Beijing’s military is much larger and more advanced, with a missile arsenal that could likely wipe out the island’s air strips in the event of any conflict across the Taiwan Strait. That makes the deal more of a political coup for Tsai than any significant change to the military balance between Beijing and Taipei.
“Regardless of whether it can actually use US arms in combat, Taiwan has always appreciated any US arms sale, and especially the big ticket items such as F-16s, to symbolise Washington’s continued security commitment to the island,” said Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst with Rand Corp.