WASHINGTON — A United Nations report said China has been
supplying weapons to Sudanese troops and rebels in the war-torn Darfour
province.
The report said China has been supplying weapons and ammunition to
rebels and regime-backed militias in Darfour. The report said China has
violated an arms ban on Darfour, where about 200,000 people have been killed
in the province.
"China has been, and continues to be, a major supplier of light weapons
to the government of Sudan and many of the neighboring states," Ernst Jan
Hogendoorn, a UN expert, told a conference on small arms proliferation on
Monday.
The report said Sudan's neighbors have also supplied weapons to Darfour.
The UN cited Chad, Eritrea and Libya.
"Chinese arms and ammunition are relatively cheap compared to other
suppliers," Hogendoorn said. "Some also argue that China asks fewer
questions."
On Monday, the UN released a report entitled "Small Arms Survey 2006:
Unfinished Business," which asserted that China and Russia held the largest
arsenals of firearms in the world. Keith Krause, program director of the
Small Arms Survey research project, termed Iran and Israel "significant"
weapons exporters.
"The important thing to note is that production and surplus transfers
are linked," the report said. "There is a significant cascade effect as
wealthy states renew their arms and displace older weapons via surplus
transfers to less wealthy states."
Egypt, Iran and Turkey were also listed as among the top 15 firearms
arsenals in the world.
The UN panel said China, which helps operate Sudan's oil sector, has not
supplied weapons directly to Darfour. Instead, the Chinese arms sent to
Sudan have ended up in the province.
The UN report was the second in less than a month to cite Chinese
military aid to Sudan. The London-based Amnesty International said China
supplied military trucks to Sudan in late 2005.
"Surplus stocks are largely transferred to the world's poorer states,
while the wealthier states tend to rely more heavily on newly-produced
weapons," Small Arms Survey 2006 said. "Yet because demand is cyclical-and
to a large extent generated by states attempting to maintain parity with one
another or adhering to alliance membership rules-production and surplus
transfers fluctuate."
