Israel sought yesterday to end a row with chief ally Washington over a controversial Chinese arms deal ahead of a visit by China's top diplomat, saying it regretted any possible damage to US interests.
US Secretary of State Condoleezzaa Rice -- by coincidence in Israel on the same day as Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom insisted Israel had "acted in good faith" amid continued fallout from a deal to upgrade Harpy Killer drones that Israel sold to China.
"I regret that these sales could have damaged the interests of the United States, but we were acting in good faith," Shalom told public radio before meeting Rice in Jerusalem.
Following her discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Shalom, the top US diplomat suggested progress had been made on the fallout.
"I think everyone knows our concerns with arms sales to China ... I appreciate that the Israeli government has been working on this issue," she said at a news conference.
"I believe the Israelis now understand our concerns and I am certain as good partners can ... we will come to strong resolutions that allow us to proceed."
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev also said he expected the rift to be cleared up.
"As far as I know there is an understanding that these things will be behind us soon," he told reporters. It is "our hope that we'll make arrangements with the United States" to resolve the matter, he added.
But Regev would not say whether such arrangements would entail a complete halt to Israeli dealings with China or the possibility of case-by-case approval by the US on Israeli arms deals.
Rice only last week indicated her unhappiness with Israel over its transfer of military equipment and technology to China, despite rounds of what she called "very difficult discussions."
The Pentagon has confirmed imposing some restrictions on arms sales and technology transfers to Israel following the drones deal.
The row has cast a rare shadow over Israeli-US relations, with the influential chairman of the Knesset's foreign affairs and defense committee Yuval Steinitz describing the situation as a "crisis."
After his talks with Rice, Shalom is scheduled to meet Sunday with Li, whose visit to the region is a further sign of Beijing's deepening involvement in the quest for peace in the Middle East.
The Chinese foreign minister is also set to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Monday. Abbas was in Beijing last month while Shalom also visited the Chinese capital late last year.
Shalom hailed what he called a "huge improvement" in relations between Israel and China, but issued a veiled warning to Beijing to soften its traditional pro-Palestinian stance.
"Any country that wants to get involved in the peace process should take balanced positions vis-a-vis the Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
SPY GAMES: For more than 20 years, intelligence officers traveled to China, where they identified other MIB personnel and allegedly traded secrets for money and gifts The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted four retired Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) officials, who are accused of providing China with a list of bureau personnel and other classified materials while attempting to recruit colleagues into a spy network in Taiwan. Prosecutors charged Chang Chao-jan (張超然), Chou Tien-tzu (周天慈) and Wang Ta-wang (王大旺), former colonels at the bureau, and Yueh Chih-chung (岳志忠) — a former major general and chief of the MIB’s Fifth Bureau, where he was in charge of sending agents to China on covert assignments — with breaches of the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the National Intelligence Services
CONTINUED VIGILANCE: People would still be required to wear masks at eight types of public spaces and border controls would continue, Chen Shih-chung told reporters The government’s autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to continue beyond Sunday, but eating and drinking on high-speed trains would be allowed from Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while there were no new confirmed cases in Taiwan yesterday, the global COVID-19 situation remains serious, so the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program would be extended beyond its Sunday deadline. “Border control measures, including requiring a negative polymerase chain reaction test result obtained within three days of boarding a plane to Taiwan, and undergoing quarantine in a
MORE RISK? Three Taiwanese family members were found to have the Brazilian variant, which CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo said might be more infectious From Wednesday, all travelers who have been in Brazil in the past 14 days are required to be quarantined at a centralized facility after arriving in Taiwan and undergo a COVID-19 test upon ending quarantine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that starting from 12am on Wednesday, all travelers arriving from Brazil, including those who have transited through the country in the past 14 days, would have to stay at a centralized quarantine facility. “They will be tested for COVID-19 upon completing the 14-day quarantine, and they
RSS