BEIJING, December 20. /TASS/. Beijing has imposed sanctions on 20 US defense companies over weapons supplies to Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced.

According to the ministry, the decision enters into force on December 26. The new sanctions target 20 firms and ten individuals.

The blacklisted companies include Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, L3Harris Maritime Services, Boeing in St. Louis, Gibbs & Cox, Advanced Acoustic Concepts, VSE Corporation, Sierra Technical Services, Red Cat Holdings, Teal Drones, ReconCraft, High Point Aerotechnologies, Epirus, Dedrone Holdings, Area-I, Blue Force Technologies, Dive Technologies, Vantor, Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, Rhombus Power Inc., and Lazarus Enterprises.

"The United States has recently announced a large-scale weapons package for the Chinese region of Taiwan in a major breach of the One China principle and three China-US communiques," the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement. "This is a serious interference in China’s internal affairs, which strongly undermines our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," the ministry added.

According to the ministry, the decision was made in accordance with national legislation on combating foreign sanctions. The measures freeze any assets the companies and individuals hold in China and ·bar Chinese organizations and ·individuals from doing business with them and promoting cooperation. The blacklisted individuals are also ·banned from entering China.

US arms supplies to Taiwan

Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post in late November that Taipei would allocate an additional $40 billion for defense, specifying that the funds would be used to purchase weapons from the United States.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949, when the remaining Kuomintang forces, led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), fled to the island after being defeated in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. However, Beijing considers the island to be one of its provinces, a position shared by the majority of countries, including Russia. While adhering to the One China policy, Washington continues to maintain unofficial ties with Taipei and supply the island with weapons. China estimates that US military aid to Taiwan has exceeded $70 billion over the past several years.