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WASHINGTON (Islam Online) July 2 - According to reports from US intelligence agencies, China continues to aid Pakistan with its missile program. Although direct sale and transfer of full missile systems from China have ceased, China continues to offer both specialty parts and technical expertise. The Clinton administration and Congress were briefed throughout last week concerning Pakistan's ability to develop long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads. The report comes on the heels of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent visit to China to, in part, address China's weapon and arms technology transfer policies. Later this week, State Department arms control officials are scheduled to visit China to stress their concern with China's current relations with Pakistan. China and Pakistan consider India, with which both share borders, their greatest threat. As a result, relationships between Beijing and Islamabad have consistently matured since the division of South Asia into Pakistan and India in 1947. Due to this relationship and Pakistan's pursuit of nuclear weapon technology initiated in the mid-1970s after India's first successful nuclear test, in recent years Washington has imposed sanctions on China, once in 1991 and again in 1993, for its aid to Pakistan's nuclear weapon program. As a result, China, in 1994, agreed to comply with the main provisions of the Missile Technology Control Regime and said it would no longer sell full, M-11 missiles to Pakistan. That, however, has not precluded China from continuing to transfer both parts and expertise. Concern has mounted in Washington due not only to China's long-standing strategic relationship with Pakistan, but also because of recent visits by President Mohammed Khatami of Iran. US foreign policy and intelligence officials are keenly aware of Iran's suspected drive to become nuclear capable. Khatami's visit to China, the first of its kind since the Iranian Revolution, has increased Washington's vigilance on Chinese weapon technology transfers. Recent security breaches at US nuclear weapon research facilities, including Los Alamos, where espionage on the part of China is suspected, exacerbate Washington's concerns with China. |
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