US Has 'No Right' to Interfere in Russia Military Cooperation: China

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian called it a 'blatant violation of the basic norms of international relations,' and warned against the State Department imposed sanctions on China's Equipment Development Department.

David Stanway

Ben Blanchard

us has no right to interfere in russia military cooperation china

Red flags flutter as paramilitary policemen stand guard on the Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People during the closing ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, March 12, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/Files

Shanghai/Beijing: China's decision to buy fighter jets and missile systems from Russia is a normal act of cooperation between sovereign countries and the US has "no right to interfere", defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Saturday.

On Thursday, the US State Department imposed sanctions on China's Equipment Development Department (EED), the branch of the military responsible for weapons procurement, after it engaged in "significant transactions" with Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms exporter.

The sanctions are related to China's purchase of 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, the State Department said.

The sanctions will block the EED and its director, Li Shangfu, from applying for export licences and participating in the US financial system.

"The US approach is a blatant violation of the basic norms of international relations, a full manifestation of hegemony, and a serious breach of the relations between the two countries and their two militaries," Wu said in a notice posted on the Chinese defence ministry's official Wechat account.

He warned that the US would face "consequences" if it did not immediately revoke the sanctions.

(Reuters)

This article went live on September twenty-second, two thousand eighteen, at eight minutes past four in the afternoon.

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