A Chinese state company has transferred a dozen batches of missile components to Pakistan, in shipments which, if confirmed, would breach a Sino-US non-proliferation accord, a report said Monday.
Quoting unnamed US intelligence sources, The Washington Times reported US spy satellites had detected shipments of components as they arrived by truck at the China-Pakistan border on May 1.
The paper said the China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation supplied the components for Pakistan's Shaheen-1 and Shaheen-2 missile programs.
US intelligence agencies have detected 12 such missile component transfers sent by ship and truck, according to the paper, which has close contacts in the intelligence community.
The export of missiles and components by Chinese state firms is one of the most contentious issues in the fractious US-China relationship.
If confirmed, the latest shipments would appear to infringe a November 2000 accord under which China committed not to export ballistic missile components restricted by a global anti-missile pact.
In return, the former US administration said it would process applications from US firms that wanted to launch satellites on Chinese rockets and not impose sanctions on Chinese firms for selling missiles to Pakistan and Iran.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher declined to comment on The Washington Times report. US officials habitually refuse to publicly divulge information related to intelligence matters. But he said Washington expected China to abide by the November 2000 deal.
"We intend to do our part ... we know that the Chinese are doing their part," Boucher said.
Ahead of a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Colin Powell less than two weeks ago, the US formally protested the alleged shipments, The Washington Post reported late last month.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique