FILE – In this Sept. 16, 2014, file photo, a Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes off from a closed section of highway during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Chiayi, central Taiwan. China said Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, that it will levy sanctions against U.S. firms linked to plans for an U.S. dollars 8 billion sale of F-16 fighters to Taiwan in a move that has further strained Sino-American relations. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File)
A senior Chinese officer says the country “will not sit idly by” if the U.S. proceeds with a sale of advanced F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, and warned of other potential countermeasures in addition to punishing foreign firms involved in the deal. Col. Chen Rongdi, chief of the Institute of War Studies at the Academy of Military Sciences, said at a defense forum Thursday that Beijing considered the sale a violation of previous U.S. commitments to China regarding the island it considers its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. He did not elaborate on what additional measures China might take.
Beijing has repeatedly said it will levy sanctions against U.S. companies linked to a planned $8 billion sale and demanded Washington cancel it immediately.
Source: Associated Press