China slaps sanctions on Lockheed Martin over Taiwan missile deal

China firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan. We urge US to earnestly abide by the One-China principle, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said

China on Tuesday announced sanctions on top American arms manufacturing firm Lockheed Martin in a retaliation to the US State Department's approval of a request by Taiwan for the recertification of PAC-3 air defence missiles built by the company. 

“China firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan. We urge US to earnestly abide by the One-China principle, stop selling arms to Taiwan and cut its military ties with Taiwan, so that it will not cause further harm to bilateral ties, peace and security across the Taiwan straits,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing. 
 

His remarks comes days after the US State Department last week approved Taiwan's request for the re-certification of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defence missiles at an estimated cost of $620 million.