Wed, Jul 13, 2011 page3

• PRC control of missile technology exports questioned

  DON’T LOOK NOW: China told the US it had shut down a firm involved in one case of missile-related sales, but the firm continued to engage in ‘proliferant behaviror’

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  A diplomatic cable recently released by WikiLeaks highlights US concern over China’s ability and willingness to enforce export controls on ballistic missile technology.

  The cable, issued by the US Department of State to its embassy in Paris on Sept. 18, 2009, concerned “China’s ballistic missile-related export control record.”

  US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton requested the embassy to provide the interagency paper on the subject to the French Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) point of contact in preparation for an information exchange held in conjunction with the MTCR plenary session from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13, 2009.

  “Since the 2008 Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Plenary, Chinese firms have continued to provide MTCR-controlled and non-Annex items to ballistic missile programs in countries of concern, demonstrating continued weaknesses in Beijing’s export control enforcement efforts,” the cable said.

  The US attributed the weaknesses to a number of factors.

  China relied on foreign-sourced information, rather than its own preventive enforcement efforts, to prompt proliferation-related investigations and it failed to know their customers, the department said.

  The cable showed that the US noted China’s reluctance to enforce its catchall controls and its insufficient efforts to penalize firms involved in ballistic missile-related sales.

  “This, in turn, reflects a lack of political will by Chinese authorities, some of whom probably continue to view ballistic missile-related transfers as less of a priority than nuclear-, chemical-, or biological-weapon-related transfers,” the cable said.

  Chinese firms over the past year have offered or sold MTCR-controlled and non-Annex items to ballistic missile-related entities in foreign countries, including Iran, Pakistan and Syria, the US said.

  “In some cases, sales have continued despite extensive information provided by the US to Chinese authorities outlining our concerns about these firms’ activities,” the cable said.

  The US remained concerned that the sale of these systems could destabilize sensitive regions, facilitate the development of weapons of mass destruction and potentially advance a new customer’s domestic research and development and production capabilities, the cable said.

  The cable also said the US frequently shared with the Chinese government information related to cases of missile proliferation concern to get Beijing to “investigate and/or stop the activity.”

  “Occasionally, Chinese authorities will request additional information about the entities or goods involved in a specific transaction, and the US consistently responds to these requests. More often, however, they simply note the demarche and indicate that it will be referred to the proper authorities,” it said.

  The US said that Chinese officials provide only limited feedback on these cases and the status of their investigations, even saying on one occasion in 2009 that “China’s business is its own business,” the cable said, adding that Chinese enforcement action appeared questionable at best.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Chinese carrier group entered Japanese waters

  • 2

    Taiwan in Time: Snapshots of early Japanese-era Taipei

  • 3

    Think tank hosts war games in Taipei

  • 4

    Magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Hualien County

  • 5

    Students rescued from Cambodia