China imposed on Thursday trade sanctions and investment to US military contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon for supplying weapons to taiwan as part of its efforts to isolate the insular democracy, which the ruling Communist Party claims as part of its territory.
Companies will not be able to import goods into China or make new investments in the country, the Ministry of Commerce announced.
The impact of the sanctions on Lockheed Martin or Raytheon was not immediately clear. The United States bans most sales of weapons technology to China, but some military contractors have civilian businesses in aerospace, among other markets.
Taiwan and China they separated in 1949 after a civil war. The island has never been part of the People’s Republic of China but the Communist Party maintains that it is bound to join the mainland, by force if necessary.
Xi Jinping’s regime has stepped up its efforts to intimidate Taiwan by deploying fighter jets and bombers near the island and firing missiles into the sea.
Meanwhile, Japan and the United States Large-scale joint military exercises began on Thursday in the southwest of the Japanese archipelago, aimed at improving their operational capabilities in the face of China’s growing presence in those waters.
These annual exercises called “Iron Fist” (“Iron Fist”) are held for the first time outside of California (USA) since they were launched in 2006, and in this edition they have a total of 1,700 troops.
The maneuvers include the simulation of the defense and recapture of remote islands using amphibious vehicles and aircraft. Ospreyand will last until March 12, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
Among the points where they will be carried out is the main island of Okinawa or Tokunoshima and kikaijimawhich are part of the chain of islands in the southwest of the Japanese archipelago that make up the country’s first defensive line in potential conflicts.
These islands are close to Taiwan and the Senkakuuninhabited islets administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, which calls them diaoyu.
The frequent activities of Chinese ships in waters close to these islands are a cause of growing concern for Japan and regular diplomatic protests against the neighboring country.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have cooled in recent years over territorial disputes, and Japan has called the Asian giant an “unprecedented challenge” for its military rise in the region and its rapprochement with Russia.
(With information from AP and EFE)
Keep reading:
Biden does not rule out banning TikTok in the US: “I don’t have it on my cell phone”
Australia and the EU hope to sign a free trade agreement by the middle of this year
The rearguard of the war in Ukraine is in a city in the United States
Source-www.infobae.com