Foreign Policy Issues:Hello anybody listening???How America's 'friends' are helping the Chinese.
Peter and all:
1)
Ref: India Funds.
I heard Morgan Stanley is reasonably optimistic about Indian stock market.25% discount sounds pretty interesting perhaps waiting a little will give a better ideas as to the direction of the economy and stock market.Also of interest will be the decision of the UN and
the security council with respect to India and China.
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2)
Source:The Heritage Foundation.
sub:How America's Friends Are Building China's Military Power
By Richard Fisher- Senior Policy Analyst. Dated Nov.1997
Here is an excerpt.
Several friends and allies of the United States, including Russia and Israel, are selling such advanced weaponry and military technology to China, and several European countries, among them France and Britain, also are interested in tapping this market. This is a dangerous strategic development. For example, China could use increased military technology and hardware to build survivable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with which to target the United States. It could build new long-range cruise missiles and, possibly, a power-projection air force. And it could increase its naval capabilities with new submarines and supersonic anti-ship missiles. With such capability, the PLA would pose a realistic threat to U.S. forces and to allies like the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. Or it could sell this technology to rogue states which are less interested in diplomacy. Indeed, China's drive to become a great military power is one of the most important challenges facing the United States in Asia.
The PLA, to be sure, will face great difficulty in absorbing any new military technology, in addition to which budget constraints will affect procurement decisions. .......
Nevertheless, China continues to make substantial efforts to modernize its military, including efforts to obtain and utilize foreign military technology to increase the capabilities and reach of the People's Liberation Army. For America's friends to contribute to this buildup should be unacceptable to both the defense and policy communities in Washington, especially in view of China's potentially hostile intentions toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The Clinton Administration, however, has made only modest and ineffective attempts to convince U.S. allies and friends involved in facilitating China's military modernization that they should halt this dangerous weapons-related traffic.
A Looming Threat. The threat this military buildup portends is anything but minor. By improving its missile forces, China could target opponents--including the United States and neighboring Asian countries--more accurately and threaten them with nuclear and conventional warheads. Smaller long-range cruise missiles could be launched from ground, air, and surface ship or submarine platforms. Top-of-the-line combat aircraft with modern missiles, controlled by airborne warning and control (AWACS) aircraft and extended by aerial tankers, would allow the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) to conduct long-range air superiority and interdiction missions. Only the U.S. Navy would be capable of countering China's future supersonic anti-ship missiles.
Such capabilities could pose a serious threat to peace in Asia. Both the economic well-being of Asia and the 4 million U.S. jobs sustained by trade with Asian countries depend on maintaining the freedom of the seas. ........
A Better Strategy. The most effective strategy for the Administration and Congress would be to:
Sustain the U.S. arms embargo with China. The United States should continue to set an example by not selling its weapons to China unless Beijing peacefully settles its differences with Taiwan, controls the proliferation of dangerous military and nuclear technology, and subjects its strategic weapons to inspection and negotiations that will lead to limitations. Washington should not follow Europe's example by relaxing its 1989 embargo on arms to China, or Russia's and Israel's by selling advanced military technology to China.
Wage a campaign of public diplomacy to deter arms sales to China. The United States should not just engage arms suppliers to China in private and allow them to escape public scrutiny. The Administration must confront these allies and friends publicly and demand that they stop selling dangerous technology to China.
Stress to China's arms suppliers that a more powerful PLA could threaten peace in Asia as well as their own interests. The United States should make sure that the Israelis understand that Chinese weapons could be re-exported to rogue states in the Middle East and remind Moscow that China could revive its old claims to territory now controlled by Russia. U.S. friends and allies must understand that if, by selling their weapons to China, they create a larger threat to peace in Asia, the United States might not be able to meet future military requirements in either the Middle East or Europe.
Maintain the deterrence capabilities of U.S. forces in Asia. The United States must move ahead with plans to deploy missile defense systems in Asia and better protect U.S. satellites in space. It also must ensure that modern combat aircraft like the F-22A are fully capable of prevailing in combat, and should develop an inexpensive defense against supersonic anti-ship missiles.
Who Is Selling Weapons to China?
After the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, both the United States and the European Union embargoed the sale of weapons to China. This was a change in policy from the period of anti-Soviet cooperation during the 1980s. At that time, the United States, Israel, and several European countries sold their weapons and military technology to China to help it defend its borders against Soviet aggression. By the early 1990s, however, China had turned to Russia to purchase advanced weapons to modernize the People's Liberation Army. Russia remains China's major source of fighter aircraft, air-to-air missiles, ground attack missiles, submarines, and supersonic anti-ship missiles. Furthermore, Russia has become increasingly dependent on sales of weapons to China to support its own financially strapped military research and development sector, and it is not clear that Moscow exercises strict control over its military technical relationship with China, which has deep access to Russian design bureaus and engineers who are selling their data to China.
Israel seeks to support its defense industries through sales to China as well. It continued its military technical relationship with China despite the Tiananmen Square massacre and today is China's second most important source of advanced military technology. Israel has sold its fighter aircraft technology, air-to-air missiles, and (reportedly) cruise missile technology to China.2 A deal in the works also will provide an advanced Israeli airborne radar to China. Some Israeli officials claim the sale of military technology to China will secure Beijing's agreement not to sell specific weapons to Israel's enemies in the Middle East,3 which seems not unlike paying China for "protection."
Europe's arms industries also are under growing financial pressure, and some countries like France and Britain are working to end the 1989 European Union arms embargo. By early 1996, Britain had revised its interpretation of the embargo to permit the sale of military technology except that which explodes or delivers explosives. In 1996, Britain sold China a reported six to eight airborne early-warning radar systems.4 France reportedly has discussed with China the selling of advanced fighter aircraft, aircraft engines, and even an aircraft carrier.5 There are doubts that China could afford to buy many European weapon systems. However, Europe's re-entry into the China arms market could very well increase pressure from U.S. arms manufacturers to seek relaxation of the U.S. arms embargo as well......................... |
