China Taiwan arms sanctions escalated after Beijing imposed restrictions on defence-linked companies involved in US arms sales to Taiwan. Following recent arms sales to Taiwan by the United States, China has placed new sanctions on 20 companies that are directly involved in the provision of defence equipment or related products to American defence contractors and/or Taiwan.
Representatives of the Chinese government stated their belief that the actions taken by these companies are a violation of China’s sovereignty and national security. The companies targeted by sanctions include some of America’s largest manufacturers of defence products, which supply equipment to Taiwan. Chinese representatives have alleged that these manufacturers support secessionist activities that harm China’s interests by providing military support.
China announced that it will place restrictions on all of these companies related to investment, partnership, and other business activities connected to China. The action taken by China follows the repeated approval of arms packages, which were produced by various defence manufacturers, to support Taipei by the United States.
While the Chinese government considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province of China, it has a very strong opposition against the involvement of foreign militaries in Taiwan. The Chinese government stated that the actions that have been taken are in direct response to the increasing level of interference by the United States.
Limited Economic Impact On US Defence Firms
Most U.S. defense manufacturers will likely not face any major financial losses as a result of these sanctions because the majority of the companies that have been sanctioned do very little or no business with China. In the United States, the regulations that define export controls for defense products prohibit the export of defense technologies to Chinese companies. Additionally, many manufacturers do not maintain a significant inventory of goods in China.
Furthermore, the travel bans placed on corporate executives will only have a minor impact since manufacturers do not engage in significant commerce with China. Many manufacturers have survived through various sanctions imposed on them by China and have continued to operate normally. Therefore, companies such as Lockheed Martin continue to win defense contracts in the global marketplace. As analysts have stated, since most manufacturers are currently not participating in the Chinese market, China has no leverage over the majority of these companies. The majority of these measures are primarily intended for public relations purposes and not as a method of imposing a financial penalty on companies.
Strategic signalling behind China Taiwan arms sanctions
China is announcing its intent to counteract U.S. arms sales to Taiwan through the use of sanctions. With these actions, China hopes to demonstrate that it will respond to external pressures with countermeasures rather than capitulate under the weight of such pressures. China also intends to use these actions to dissuade other nations from providing military assistance to Taiwan. In doing so, China is also sending a message to its own domestic population regarding its capacity and commitment to defend its territorial interests.
The sanctions will also exert psychological pressure on Taiwan’s leadership. Though the sanctions are unlikely to be particularly effective, China will most likely continue to employ them as it relates to arms sales being made to Taiwan. Taiwan remains the most sensitive area of tension between the United States and China, and China will likely continue to employ sanctions as long as the US continues to sell military equipment to Taiwan.
For more- https://civiclens.in/category/international-news/
About the Author
