WASHINGTON Ñ The Bush administration has warned Israel not to sell
major weapons systems to China after a report in The Washington Times that Israeli drones or unmanned air vehicles had been deployed near Taiwan.
U.S. officials said Israeli and Chinese envoys have been discussing the
sale of Israeli strategic systems to Beijing. They said these systems could
be used in any attack on Taiwan or the U.S. military presence in the region.
"The message has been relayed now so there are no misunderstandings," an
official said. "The administration is not interested in negotiating with
Israel on what it could sell to China. It wants zero sales to Beijing."
Officials said Israeli and Chinese defense executives and government
envoys have discussed a range of possible sales, Middle East Newsline reported. They include the sale to
China of an Israeli spy satellite, UAVs and tanks and
aircraft upgrades.
On Tuesday, The Times quoted U.S. defense officials as saying
that Israel transferred the Harpy attack UAV to China. They said the Harpy
was deployed in large-scale exercises near Taiwan.
The Harpy, designed and manufactured by the state-owned Israel Aircraft
Industries, is meant to destroy radar facilities. The UAV has a range of
about 300 kilometers and contains a high-explosive warhead of more than 20
kilograms.
IAI refused to respond to the Times report. The newspaper said Israel
has become a major supplier of weapons and defense technology to China. The
newspaper quoted Pentagon and intelligence officials that Israel relayed
technology of the Patriot anti-aircraft system and the Tactical High-Energy
Laser to China during the last decade.
"The article in the Times is no accident," a U.S. congressional staffer
familiar with the issue said. "The administration is sending a message to
Israel that it has lots of dirt regarding China."
Two years ago, the Clinton administration and Congress pressured Israel
to suspend and then cancel the sale of four Phalcon airborne early-warning
systems to China in a deal estimated at $1 billion. The move froze
Israeli-Chinese relations for more than a year until Beijing last fall
agreed to buy an Israeli communications satellite from IAI for an estimated
$200 million.
On Wednesday, a delegation from the Israeli parliament's powerful
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee left for Beijing in the first such
visit since the cancellation of the Phalcon sale. The committee has launched
an investigation of the Israeli cancellation of the Phalcon sale to China.
