“China will not sit idly by,” Chen said at a
forum sponsored by China’s official journalists’
association. “Of course, we don’t rule out
additional measures.”
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. China has made such threats
regarding previous arms sales by the U.S., but
they’ve had limited effect because the companies
involved are either important to China’s own
nascent commercial aviation industry or have
little or no business with the country.
Most recently, China pledged sanctions against
the U.S. in July when the Trump administration
said it was considering a $2.2 billion sale of tanks
and air missiles to Taiwan.
Both Chen and Col. Cao Yanzong, a research
fellow at the institute, dismissed the ultimate
effectiveness of the F-16V planes, given China’s
overwhelming air superiority and arsenal of
short to medium-range missiles.
The sale would be of little use “beyond making
profits for American arms makers, while further
undermining relations between China and the
U.S. and China and Taiwan,” said Cao.
China fiercely opposes all arms sales to Taiwan
but has specifically objected to advanced
fighter jets such as the F-16V, whose Active
Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, radar
is compatible with the F-35 stealth fighters
operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines.
The U.S. is also installing upgraded electronics,
including AESA radars, on Taiwan’s existing fleet
of 144 older F-16s.
The Trump administration informed Congress
last week that it plans to sell Taiwan 66 of the
planes and the U.S. State Department this week
ann
(Ann)
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