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.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
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STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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