China Curbs US Arms Makers For Selling To Taiwan
Date
5/20/2024 3:20:10 PM
(MENAFN- Asia Times) China added three American defense contractors to its Unreliable Entity List on Monday, the day of Taiwan's presidential inauguration, and accused them of having sold arms to the island.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced its decision to sanction three United States firms, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
It said the three firms are banned from further investment in China while their senior executives cannot enter or stay in the country.
It also ordered Boeing Defense, Space & Security to pay a fine equivalent to two times of what it received from its arms sale to Taiwan. The company's President Ted Colbert was sanctioned by China in 2022 after it won a US$355 million contract to supply Harpoon missiles to Taiwan.
In fact, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems already had their mainland assets frozen by the Chinese authorities on April 11 due to their weapon deals with Taiwan.
In March this year, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a contract worth US$250 million to supply MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Taiwan.
In 2019, Taiwan asked to buy 108 units of M1A2T Abrams tanks from General Dynamics Land Systems. The first batch of 38 tanks will be delivered this year.
Caplugs slapped
Also on Monday, the Ministry of Commerce urged a unit of Caplugs, a New York-based protective cap maker, to stop supplying products to those on China's Unreliable Entity List, such as Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
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A first glimmer of hope for China property “Evidence indicates that Caplugs has bypassed Chinese sanctions by transferring goods purchased from China to companies already listed on the unreliable entities list,” it said.
“When conducting export business with Caplugs, domestic companies should be aware of the risks of improper transfers,” it said.
“They must perform due diligence, enhance their duty of care, strengthen trade flow management, and take appropriate measures to ensure that relevant goods, technologies and services are not transferred to foreign entities on the unreliable entities list.”
Lai's speechBeijing's decision came as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s William Lai Ching-te replaced Tsai Ing-wen to become the new Taiwanese President on Monday.
”China must stop posing verbal and military threats to Taiwan, and should take its global responsibilities with Taiwan to help maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the region and ensure that the world is free from the fear of war,” Lai said in his inauguration speech.
“Taiwanese people love peace and are kind to others,” he said.“If country leaders put the welfare of the people as their highest consideration, then peace, mutual benefit, coexistence and common prosperity across the Taiwan Strait should be our common goals.”
He said Taiwan will strengthen its national defense capabilities and improve its national security legal system to protect itself from being harmed by China's threats and infiltrations.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te says the island will continue to increase its national defense capabilities. Photo: Photo: Taipei News Photographer AssociationHe added that the island will work side by side with democratic countries around the world to form a peaceful community to exert deterrence, avoid war, and achieve the goal of peace through strength.
Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported on May 14 that the US and Taiwanese navies held days-long exercises in April. A source said the drills did not officially take place as both sides agreed that their warships would only have“unplanned sea encounters” and practice“basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupply.
On May 15, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said that a total of 26 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension in the 24 hours ended 6am on that day.
The 77th WHAWhen Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou was Taiwanese President between 2009 and 2016, Taiwan participated as an observer in the World Health Assembly (WHA) under the designation“Chinese Taipei.”
But the island's representative was not invited to join the WHA between 2017 and last year as Beijing argued that Taiwan cannot be a separate UN member under the United Nations Resolution 2758.
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On May 1 this year, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said the US strongly encourages the World Health Organization (WHO) to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at the 77th WHA, which will take place on May 27 to June 1.
On May 15, a bipartisan group of US senators proposed a resolution stating that China“misused and misinterpreted the UN Resolution 2758 and misrepresented its contents to imply acceptance of Beijing's“one China” principle.
Republican Senator Jim Risch said Washington's“one China” policy is not equivalent to Beijing's“one China” principle.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the US will continue to be“committed to Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations and to a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on May 15 that there is only one seat of China in the United Nations, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal representative. He said the UN Resolution 2758 rules out the possibility of having“two Chinas” or“one China, one Taiwan.”
As of Monday, Taiwan has not yet received an invitation from the WHO to participate in its annual assembly.
Read: Chinese warn of Taiwan crisis from US military aid
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