China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday gloated that a waiver from the U.S. government to take delivery on F-35 fighter jets exposed America’s “dependence on Chinese rare-earth products” and demonstrated that China can bring the U.S. military to heel whenever it wishes by choosing to “limit the export of such strategic resources to safeguard its national security.”
The Pentagon on Wednesday halted delivery of F-35 jet fighters because investigators discovered a magnet in the engine system was manufactured using materials from China that did not comply with U.S. import laws.
The U.S. State Department said this week it recently fined U.S. defense contractor Honeywell $13 million after the company was found to have “harmed national security” by sharing sensitive information about U.S. military aircraft with China and other countries.
French union Solidaires Côtes d’Armor has criticised the government for not saving a factory that produced millions of FFP2 masks before it shut its doors in 2018.
