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Israel feels the heat from U.S. anger at Chinese proliferation

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, June 28, 2000

JERUSALEM -- Israeli diplomats report that congressional anger toward Israel has reached fever pitch. They said Israel's sale of the Phalcon airborne early-warning system to China has galvanized long simmering resentment among Democrats and Republicans regarding China's increasingly offensive military posture.

U.S. officials said China is raising billions of dollars in Western capital markets, including the United States to buy technology that could be used in military programs. They said Beijing seeks to modernize its military with Western technology through the establishment of front companies, Middle East Newsline reports.

Meanwhile in Washington, leading senators said the proliferation endangers U.S. national security and warned they will penalize Beijing. Sen. Fred Thompson, a Republican from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, has authored a bill that would set up a system to monitor and penalize China for proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

Thompson told the Senate that China has supplied missiles to Libya, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Iran. He said that recently China provided assistance to Pakistan to build a missile factory.

"The Chinese have promised that they would do better, promised that they would adhere to international regimes and norms of conduct, and they have consistently violated them," Thompson said. "They have materially assisted Pakistan's missile program; they have materially assisted North Korea's missile program; they have materially assisted Libya's missile program. They have now been responsible apparently for two missile plants in Pakistan."

On Tuesday, the Washington Times daily reported that Beijing's main nuclear weapons center is using U.S. supercomputers illegally to simulate warhead detonations without actual underground tests. The newspaper quoted a Pentagon report that said China is expanding a nuclear research facility at Mianyang.

A bill by Thompson and Sen. Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, would establish an annual review mechanism of China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This could include limiting Beijing's access to U.S. capital markets.

Israel was trying to defuse congressional anger over the sale of the Phalcon airborne early-warning system to China on the eve of a key committee hearing Tuesday to discuss U.S. aid to Israel.

Israeli officials have been relaying messages to congressional leaders that Jerusalem does not intend to dismiss concerns on Capitol Hill regarding the $250 million Phalcon sale. At least one leading senator is threatening to slash U.S. military aid and is holding up the sale of Apache Longbow helicopters and others systems to the Israel Air Force.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak issued the latest message on Monday evening, a day before Tuesday's scheduled session of the House Appropriations Committee.

"The prime minister's office wishes to clarify that Israel takes the concerns of the United States regarding the sale of the Phalcon plane to China very seriously," a statement by Barak said. "Israel places great importance on its strategic ties with the United States. Israel does not have, nor has it ever had, any intention to hurt the essential interests of the United States."

But Israeli defense officials oppose the cancellation of the Phalcon deal. They said annulling the sale would end up in an Israeli loss of up to $1 billion as well as a downgrading in relations with China.

Moshe Arens, a former defense minister and currently a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said U.S. relations with Israel will not be destroyed by the Phalcon sale. He said Israel might benefit from the threatened cut in U.S. military aid.

"It's true that we get $2 billion in aid from the United States," Arens said. "Most of it we have to spend in the United States in purchases and there are drawbacks to this to the defense industries here and research and development. We have to consider how much of this aid is a blessing. It is certainly not enough so that we should begin accepting U.S. limitations and control on Israeli defense exports, which could end up toppling our industries."

In Beijing, Israeli defense contractors have been prominent in Chinese arms exhibition. Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. has a large exhibition with such products as radar. Other Israeli companies are exhibiting systems for main battle tanks.

Wednesday, June 28, 2000


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