China sanctions Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin over arms sales to Taiwan

BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China has decided to apply sanctions against aerospace and defence firm Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and peer Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) for providing weapons to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

China urged the United States to cease military liaisons with and stop arming Taiwan, or else the U.S. will be subject to "a resolute and forceful retaliation" by the Chinese side, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.

Mao named firm Lockheed Martin Corp's branch in Missouri as the prime contractor that was directly involved in an arms sale to Taiwan on Aug. 24 and said Northrop Grumman has repeatedly participated in the sale of weapons to Taiwan.

Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.