Beijing, Dec 5 (EFE).- China on Thursday sanctioned 13 United States companies and six senior executives over arms sales to Taiwan, warning that the island’s independence is incompatible with peace in the Strait.

In a press conference, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that the US’ arms sales to Taiwan seriously violate the ‘one-China’ principle and severely interfere in China’s internal affairs.

Lin also urged Washington to “fulfill the commitment made by US leader not to support Taiwan independence” and to “immediately stop arming” the island.

“Taiwan independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible,” Lin said.

According to a statement published by the Foreign Ministry on its website, the 13 companies affected include firms dedicated to the manufacturing of drones, artificial intelligence, and military communications, among other areas.

The companies are Teledyne Brown Engineering, BRINC Drones, Rapid Flight, Red Six Solutions, Shield AI, SYNEXXUS, Firestorm Labs, Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, HavocAI, Neros Technologies, Cyberlux Corporation, Domo Tactical Communications, and Group W.

Their assets will be frozen in China, where people and organizations will be prohibited from cooperating with them.

The measures also affect six senior executives, including Barbara Borgonov (president of Raytheon Company’s Strategic Naval Forces Business Unit), Gerald Huber (vice president of Raytheon Company’s Strategic Naval Forces Business Unit), Charles Woodburn (CEO of Bayee Land and Weapon Systems), Richard Crawford (founder and CEO of United Technologies Systems Operations), Beth Adler (president of Data Link Solutions), and Blake Resnick (founder and CEO of BRINC Drone), who will also have their assets in China frozen and denied entry from Thursday.

In October, China sanctioned three American defense companies, also for supplying weapons to Taiwan.

This new wave of sanctions was announced on the same day that Taiwan’s President William Lai made a stopover in the US territory of Guam, as part of his broader tour of the South Pacific.

Taiwan has long been governed autonomously, although China claims sovereignty over the island, and considers it a rebel province with which it has not ruled out the use of force to achieve “reunification.”

The Taiwan issue is one of the main points of friction between Beijing and Washington, since the US is Taipei’s main arms supplier and could defend the island in the event of a conflict. EFE

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