Posted on 10/19/2001 7:50:39 PM PDT by IRtorqued
CHINA BUILDING IRANIAN SAM SYSTEM
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- China is installing an anti-aircraft system for Iran amid concerns that the war in Afghanistan will spill into the neighboring Shi'ite republic.
The Washington Times newspaper reported that China is building an air defense network along Iran's border with Afghanistan. The newspaper said the Chinese have accelerated the project since the start of the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
U.S. intelligence officials were quoted as saying that the air defense system will include the advanced JY-14 radar. They identified the Chinese contractor as the state-owned China National Electronics Import and Export Corp.
China is said to have accelerated strategic and military projects in Iran over the last year. This has included help for Iran's intermediate- and long-range missile systems.
The JY-14 has been in Iran since around 1998, U.S. defense sources said. The radar can monitor up to 100 air targets -- such aircraft and missiles -- simultaneously and at long ranges
The Times quoted a Bush administration official as saying that Beijing's military help to Teheran could lead to the imposition of fresh U.S. sanctions under the 1992 Iran-Iraq Nonproliferation Act.
But other U.S. defense sources said the administration is likely to play down Chinese military help to Teheran. They pointed to Iran's muted help in the Afghan campaign, which includes sealing the border with Afghanistan, aid to the opposition Afghan Northern Alliance as well as a pledge to help U.S. military personnel in distress.
Moreover, the Bush administration is considering easing restrictions to allow for the U.S. export of advanced security equipment to China.
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Well, how else are they to know if the lessons learned in Bosnia will work?.
---max
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