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,

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

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.