China said it sanctioned five US defense industry companies in response partly to recently announced new arms sales to Taiwan.

The companies affected include BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operation, AeroVironment, ViaSat and Data Link Solutions, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday. The measures consist of freezing the properties of those companies in China, and prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from transactions and cooperation with them, it said.