DATE=7/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-ISRAEL-US (L)
NUMBER=2-264388
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China has reacted with restrained anger at
Israel's cancellation of a deal to sell Beijing a 250-
million-dollar airborne radar system and indirectly
accused the United States of meddling in its foreign
relations. Correspondent Roger Wilkison reports
Chinese ire over the scrapped sale comes as visiting
Defense Secretary William Cohen tries to get Sino-U-S
military relations back on track.
TEXT: The United States firmly opposed the sale of
the sophisticated Phalcon radar system to China. U-S
officials say they fear it might one day be used to
threaten the security of Taiwan and endanger US
aircraft in an eventual Sino-U-S conflict.
Israel announced late Wednesday that it would not go
ahead with the deal.
Without naming the United States or Israel, Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao let it be
known, through an interpreter, that China was not
happy about their roles in canceling the sale.
/// INTERPRETER ACT ///
No other country has the right to interfere in
the bilateral cooperation that China has with
other countries. At the same time, it is also
our view that the agreement and understanding
reached between states should be honored.
/// END ACT ///
China has never publicly admitted that it was buying
the Phalcon system. Spokesman Zhu refused to say how
the cancelled sale would affect Israel's growing
commercial and military relations with Beijing.
Defense Secretary Cohen says Chinese President Jiang
Zemin expressed concern about the scrapped deal in
their 90-minute meeting, but he refused to go into any
detail about their talks.
Mr. Cohen is in China trying to re-establish military
ties between Beijing and Washington. Those relations
have been hit with a barrage of Chinese criticism over
Washington's plans to build a national missile defense
as well as a regional (theatre) missile defense.
China says both systems are destabilizing and fears
they, like Washington's pressure on Israel to cancel
the radar sale, are aimed at containing its rise to
great power status.
Mr. Cohen says Washington does not want to contain
China, but engage it.
/// COHEN ACT ///
China cannot be contained. It is folly for
anyone to think that could be the case. It is a
futile policy should one ever try to construct
it. China is a great and growing power. It is
important that it be integrated into the
international economy, the global economy, and
international regimes. And we believe that we
are pursuing that in a variety of ways.
/// END ACT ///
Earlier in a speech to Chinese military officers, Mr.
Cohen insisted that the need for a U-S national
missile defense is driven by the spread of missile
technology to potentially hostile nations. He also
said that, despite last month's inter-Korean summit
and signs of a lessening of tensions on the peninsula,
North Korea still represents a potential threat, given
its huge army and its missile program.
Washington says the national missile defense is aimed
at protecting vulnerable areas of the United States
from such countries as North Korea, Iraq, and Iran -
despite protests from China, Russia, and several of
Washington's European allies. (SIGNED)
NEB/HK/RW/JO/RAE
13-Jul-2000 09:15 AM EDT (13-Jul-2000 1315 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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