Posted on 12/28/2005 2:23:05 PM PST by Paul Ross
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20,000 more "companies" to go.
Well if China opposes the sanctions then it can only mean the companies are guilty as sin.
Should be interesting to see who backs down.
They start ordering all those who operate Chinese restaurants back to China I guess! :)
They start ordering all those who operate Chinese restaurants back to China I guess! :)
And what most of the public doesn't know is that the People's Liberation Army has a stake in ALL Chinese companies, even the ones under foreign ownership.
What that means is that not only did those companies do business with Iran in weapons tech transfer, they did it knowing that the government knew too.
don,t you just Love Free Trade
Iran is no bother to them, and no concern (unless their checks bounce).
Its a very reckless attitude and ignores reality in the favor of greed.
Then china wonders why Japan and India want to beef up their own defences.
GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Russia sells missiles to Sudan, Syria, Libya
Among 7 nations designated by U.S. as state sponsor of terrorism
Posted: September 18, 2002
5:00 p.m. Eastern
The United States has determined that Russia continues to sell missiles and rocket-propelled grenades to such countries as Libya, Sudan and Syria.
The State Department has identified a series of state-owned Russian companies as selling the weapons to the three Arab countries over the last two years. U.S. officials said the Moscow government ignored repeated warnings to halt the sales of the conventional weapons.
Officials said Tula Design Bureau of Instrument Building sold anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to Libya, Sudan and Syria. The State Scientific Production Enterprise Bazalt exported grenades. Another company cited was Rostov Airframe Plant 168.
Last week, the State Department announced sanctions on the three Russian companies but avoided penalties on the Russian government. Under the sanctions, the three firms will not be able to trade with the United States.
Industry sources said the sanctions will have no affect on the activities.
Libya, Sudan and Syria are among the seven countries that the United States has designated as state sponsors of terrorism. The others on the State Department list are Cuba, Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
The companies are not the first Russian firms to be sanctioned by the United States. In 1998, the State Department listed several companies linked to the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry for allegedly exporting equipment used for conducting nuclear-weapons tests.
In 1999, 10 additional firms were listed for allegedly transferring sensitive technologies to Iran. Three Russian companies were sanctioned for selling military equipment to Syria.
"China reacted angrily on Dec. 28 to the United States imposing sanctions on six Chinese companies for allegedly supplying Iran with military equipment and technology, demanding the trade bans be lifted."
If China feels this way they should impose counter-sanctions. They have this immense economic leverage. Let's see them use it.
China and Iran Test-Fire Missiles
Charles R. Smith
Friday, Sept. 6, 2002
Against the backdrop of impending military action by the United States against Iraq, China and Iran have recently conducted tests of their own ballistic missile forces.
On Aug. 28, following Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to Beijing, the People's Liberation Army 2nd Artillery Corps conducted a successful flight test of its Dong Feng (East Wind) 4 missile from a launch site in southern China.
The two-stage Dong Feng 4 limited-range missile was designed initially to hit the U.S. air base at Guam and later modified to increase its range to be able to strike Moscow. The large liquid-fueled missile is armed with an H-bomb warhead equal to 3 million tons of TNT and has a range of over 4,000 miles.
China is estimated to have approximately 20 of the powerful ICBMs, which are capable of striking U.S. military assets in the Asia-Pacific theater, as well as targets in Russia and Europe.
Most of the Dong Feng 4 missiles are stored in tunnels under high mountains, and are launched immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel. The missiles must be moved into the open and fueled prior to firing, an operation dubbed "chu men fang pao" or "shooting a firecracker outside the front door."
PRC Missile Diplomacy
The Chinese missile test was considered by Western intelligence sources to be a signal by Beijing that it will continue to develop, deploy and export missile technology despite a new agreement with the Bush administration on weapons proliferation.
According to a recent report by the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, China is a leading exporter of missile technology. According to the report, Chinese proliferation of weapons, "particularly in the Middle East and Asia," poses a serious threat to the security of the United States.
"China fails to control the export of dual-use items that contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems," noted the commission's report, which was published in August.
"China is a leading international source of missile-related technologies," states the report. The report also noted that China has reneged on previous promises and continues to export missile technology to Libya, Iran and Syria.
State Department Denies Visas to Chinese Space Experts
In a move seen as a response to Beijing's missile diplomacy, the U.S. State Department has decided to deny visas to about 20 Chinese space experts invited to attend the World Space Conference in Houston this fall. Over 6,000 scientists, engineers and policy-makers are expected to show up for the space conference scheduled to start in October.
The State Department flagged several members of the Chinese delegation due to "technology-transfer concerns." The word inside Capitol Hill is that the attendees were actually high-ranking military officers from the Chinese Army 2nd Artillery Corps.
North Korea and Iranian Missiles
Meanwhile, Iran also carried out an unsuccessful test of its Shahab-3 missile. The failed test flight from northern Iran occurred late last month. The Shahab missile test reflects ongoing Iranian development of the medium-range rocket, which can strike Israel, Turkey and parts of India.
The Shahab missile is reported to be a derivative of the North Korean No Dong missile. U.S. intelligence sources have accused North Korea of working with Iran for several years to develop the Shahab system.
In a recent speech in South Korea, Under Secretary of State John Bolton labeled Pyongyang "the world's foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials, and technical expertise" and a top exporter of missiles to "notable rogue state clients such as Syria, Libya and Iran."
According to Bolton, North Korea's connections with Iran and Iraq, the other countries labeled by President Bush as constituting the "axis of evil," are reason enough to continue sanctions against Pyongyang.
"There is a hard connection between these regimes an axis along which flow dangerous weapons and dangerous technology," stated Bolton.
Another sign of war in the Middle East comes from Israel. Israel has moved to defend critical targets in case of attack from Iran or Iraq. The Israeli air force has deployed units of U.S.-made Patriot anti-ballistic missiles close to the Dimona nuclear reactor in the south of the country. The Patriots are expected to assist a unit of Arrow anti-ballistic missiles already deployed in southern Israel in the event of retaliatory missile strikes from Baghdad.
U.S. Tomahawk Armed With Directed-Energy Warhead
An additional indication that war with Iraq is in the near future comes with reports that the U.S. Navy is deploying Tomahawk cruise missiles armed with newly developed "directed energy" warheads. Several Navy warships in the Gulf region are armed with the new Tomahawk missiles.
According to U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, the strategy to use the new missiles is "in the works."
"You have to coordinate the effects, no matter what forms they take," noted Gen. Jumper. The new Tomahawk missiles are said to be equipped with warheads that produce high-power microwaves. The directed-energy warheads are intended to scramble military computers and destroy sensitive electronics. The most likely targets for the new warheads are Iraq's Chinese-made air defense system and Iraqi chemical storage facilities.
UK 'sells' bomb material to Iran
DTI is accused of approving controversial exports
British officials have approved the export of key components needed to make nuclear weapons to Iran and other countries known to be developing such weapons.
An investigation by BBC Radio 4 programme File on Four will disclose that the Department of Trade and Industry allowed a quantity of the metal, Beryllium, to be sold to Iran last year.
That metal is needed to make nuclear bombs.
Britain has had an arms embargo to Iran since 1993 and has signed up to an international protocol which bans the sale of Beryllium to named countries, including Iran.
MP's concerns
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Menzies Campbell, who has been alerted to the BBC programme's material, is said to be extremely alarmed.
Beryllium is a metal with a limited number of high-tech uses in civilian industry, but is mostly used in defence applications and is a vital component in a nuclear bomb.
The programme has also interviewed a leading nuclear weapons expert in the UK who says that the Beryllium and other items which the DTI has licensed to Iran add up to a shopping list for a nuclear weapons programme.
The UK has an arms embargo against Iran, but not a trade embargo.
Export control weaknesses
The programme highlights the weaknesses in the UK's new export control system, which was set up to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
It will reveal that Iranian procurement agents have been working in the UK to get sensitive material back to Iran, and that Pakistan has also been successful in procuring material for its nuclear programme from here.
It is also likely to cause concern among Britain's allies.
President Bush named Iran as part of an "axis of evil" accusing the Iranian regime of sponsoring terrorism.
THe sad thing is the ones we catch are probably only the tip of the iceberg.
Which is why China is wailing. Slapping these Chinese companies is a direct slap to the "image" of the Chinese Government as a "friend" of free and developed countries.
Until now they've been getting a free pass while they supply Iran, supply North Korea, support fledging communist governments across the Globe, make deals with Russia etc...
If they were a peaceful ally they'd strip NK of nuclear weapons and support regime change in Iran.
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