China sanctions heads of Raytheon, Boeing over Taiwan arms sales

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Sep 2022 12:25

Washington's arms supply to Taiwan pushes Beijing to sanction two main US corporations.

An exterior view of the Raytheon and Boeing buildings in El Segundo, Los Angeles, California, on March 24, 2018. (RB)

China has announced sanctions against the heads of Washington's war-business corporations, Raytheon Technologies and Boeing Defense, Space & Security, as a response to the US' selling of weapons to Taiwan, according to Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman.

On Thursday, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee pushed forward the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, which will provide Taiwan with $4.5 billion in security aid and a $2 billion loan guarantee for the purchase of military equipment.

The lawmakers passed the bill, which will be brought to the Senate, according to a statement by Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch.

"We must get ahead of a future crisis and give Xi Jinping reasons to think twice about invading or coercing Taiwan. I hope the full Senate will vote on this legislation soon," the statement said.

The bill will provide Taiwan with aid over four years, in addition to designating the island as a "Major Non-NATO Ally."

In addition, the legislation will also direct the US government to engage with the "democratic government of Taiwan" as a legitimate representative of the population on the island, prohibiting restrictions and limits regarding engagements between US officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

The bill also calls on the US Secretary of State to permit the display of Taiwanese sovereignty symbols - including the Taiwanese flag - and to diplomatically treat Taiwan as "equivalent to other foreign governments."

There will be a training program with Taiwan, as per the bill, which will train defense capabilities and force interoperability. The bill also addresses the Secretary of State to deal with Taiwan-related disinformation and propaganda, and to create a strategy to address China's 'economic coercion' against countries that are supporting Taiwan.

Earlier this month, escalating tensions with China, the Biden administration announced the sale of $1.1bn worth of arms to Taiwan within the framework of three contracts.

The largest contract is owed to a $655 million logistics package for the Taiwanese surveillance radar program. Harpoon air-to-sea missiles worth $355 million form the second contract while the third consists of Sidewinder air-to-air missiles worth $85 million, revealed the US Department of State, asserting that the equipment was necessary for Taiwan to “maintain a sufficient self-defense capability”.

US Congress has a countdown of 30 days to assess the agreements and give approval to the sales.