Israelis sensitive about tech sales

Taiwan's attempts to build ties with Israel's space industry are experiencing launch problems due to the Middle Eastern country's adherence to a "one China" policy, according to a US-based defense journal.

Lee Lou-chung (李羅權) director of the National Space Program Office (國家太空計畫室), was refused even a meeting with senior executives at Israeli space firms when he visited in mid-June, according to a recent issue of Virginia-based Defense News.

The Taiwanese delegation, which also included vice chairman of the National Science Council Shieh Ching-jyh (謝清志), had hoped to visit Israeli firms, receive briefings on ongoing projects and discuss the possibility of the two government's cooperating on future satellite programs, the report said.

Executives from Israel Aircraft Industries -- the county's leader in the space industry -- said they had no time to meet with the Taiwan officials, the report said. Lee had a little more luck with Elop Electro-optics Industries Ltd, which builds payloads for imaging satellites. Elop sent marketing representatives to the hotel where the Taiwan officials were staying for general discussions, report said.

In an interview with Defense News, Lee declined to say what the discussions were about, disclosing only that, "We are looking into a higher-resolution imager for future satellite programs ... we want to improve the 2m resolution capability we're now building for ROCSAT-2."

Zvi Gabay, a deputy director-general at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Israel adheres to a "one China" policy and ruled out significant defense or space-related cooperation with Taiwan, the report said.