China on Wednesday announced sanctions on American companies selling arms to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory and threatens to annex by force. Chinese state media made the announcement,

China has sanctioned nine US military-linked firms for selling arms to Taiwan, asserting it breaches the one-China principle. The sanctions include freezing property within China and banning transactions with these companies.

On Tuesday, the US State Department announced approval of a US$228 million ‘return, repair and reshipment’ equipment package to Taipei.