A senior Chinese officer says the country "will not sit idly by" if the U.S. proceeds with a sale of advanced F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, and warned of other potential countermeasures in addition to punishing foreign firms involved in the deal.

Col. Chen Rongdi, chief of the Institute of War Studies at the Academy of Military Sciences, said at a defense forum Thursday that Beijing considered the sale a violation of previous U.S. commitments to China regarding the island it considers its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. He did not elaborate on what additional measures China might take.

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.