ACCESSION NUMBER:221005
FILE ID:EP-404
DATE:03/26/92
TITLE:(NOTE TO PAOS/IOS: THE FOLLOWING STORY SHOULD BE SUBSTITUTED (03/26/92)
TEXT:*92032604.EPF
*EPF404 03/26/92 *
(NOTE TO PAOS/IOS: THE FOLLOWING STORY SHOULD BE SUBSTITUTED
FOR EPF307, WHICH RAN YESTERDAY, MARCH 25.)
U.S. LIFTS MISSILE SANCTIONS ON CHINA
(Article on MTCR, lifting of sanctions) (520)
By Jane A. Morse
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The Bush administration has lifted sanctions imposed on China
last June because of transactions by two Chinese companies involving
missile technology covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
Guidelines.
The sanctions were lifted March 23 in return for China's commitment to abide
1y the MTCR Guidelines and parameters. China indicated its agreement on
the Guidelines last November during the visit of Secretary of State James
Baker to Beijing. On February 1, U.S. officials received a letter from
China's Foreign Minister Quan Qichen confirming China's written commitment.
China's acceptance of the MTCR Guidelines has been welcomed by State
Department Spokesman Margaret Tutwiler as "an important step forward in
securing Chinese support for ballistic missile nonproliferation." The MTCR
Guidelines are "the key multinational effort to limit ballistic missile
proliferation," she said.
Secretary Baker said that China's written assurances on this matter are
"real progress -- but progress we must monitor very closely in the months
and years ahead."
The State Department emphasized that it will not slacken its efforts to
monitor either missile transfers worldwide or Chinese missile and missile
technology export practices. U.S. law continues to require sanctions for
transfers of technology that contribute to MTCR-class missiles.
With the lifting of the June 1991 sanctions against China, U.S. firms can
again apply for licenses to export to China high performance computers,
satellites and space-related technology denied under the sanctions.
However, export of satellites and items for military use must still obtain
a special interest waiver of other legal restrictions from the U.S.
government.
In discussing the matter before the House Appropriations Foreign Operations
Subcommittee in February, Baker noted that the Chinese, in agreeing to
follow MTCR Guidelines, specifically agreed to apply the Guidelines to
transfers of the M-9 and M-11 missiles. Countries such as Pakistan, Syria
and Iraq have expressed interest in obtaining these systems.
The United States carefully controls transfers of technology that could
contribute to proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
The United States is not at this time selling weapons to China.
The purpose of the MTCR Guidelines is to limit the risks of nuclear
proliferation by controlling transfers that could contribute to unmanned
nuclear weapons delivery systems. Neither an international agreement nor a
treaty, the MTCR is a voluntary arrangement among 18 countries which share
a common interest in arresting missile proliferation. Adherence to the
Guidelines is an important contribution to international peace and
security. The United States agreed to act in accordance with the
Guidelines in 1987.
The Guidelines govern the transfer of equipment and technology related to
missile systems capable of delivering at least a 500-kilogram payload to a
range of at least 300 kilometers. The Guidelines also apply to the
equipment and technology required for specifically designed facilities
needed to produce these systems.
NNNN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
