Re: China to buy Eurofighters?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Keith Willshaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 8:11 AM
Subject: Re: China to buy Eurofighters?


>
> "tscottme" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Scott Ferrin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > In my opinion selling them top of the line stuff is the height of
> > > stupidity.  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what the
> > > situation is going to be with China and the West in ten to fifteen
> > > years.
> >
> > What makes you think the Europeans don't want the next problem for the
> > US to be as bad as possible?  They have no hope of exceeding the US
> > unless a full-scale war devastates the US.  The fact that it helps
> > communists is a happy coincidence.
> >
>
> In fact there is no prospect of the ban being lifted anytime soon.
> While the French Government and some corporate bodies
> have pressed for it the EU itself has stated that it has no
> plans to lift the embargo and even if it did has stated that
> other agreements controlling the arms trade would prevent
> such deliveries taking place.
>
> http://www.crienglish.com/144/2003-10-30/[EMAIL PROTECTED]

There is a GAO report dating from 1998 that states that the current EU
embargo does not enjoy a common interpretation; what makes you think that
these "other" controls will have any real impact?

>
> In fact the main suppliers of high tech weaponry to China
> have been Israel and Russia and even the USA supplied
> dual use technology supposedly for satellite launching
> that is believed to have been used in the Chinese
> missile program. Finally of course we miust recall that Boeing has a
> large operation in China, publically states that it supports
> the one China policy  and Condit is president of the
> US China business council.

You are sort of ignoring reality here a bit, Keith. You seem to have
forgotten the UK (like those "peaceful" Searchwater radars that were agreed
for sale?), French (everything from Crotale to the licensed helicopters that
form the basis for the only real attack helo that the PLAAF has, the WZ-9),
Italy (Aspide and current attempts to sell Grifo for the PRC's new fighter
programs). Yes, the US has (pre-89) sold some very limited weapons to the
PRC, and likely, despite some attempt to control it through the contract
conditions, some of the past satellite assistance did yield some support to
the PLA missile program. But if you are going to hang the US for that, just
what the heck do you consider the recent news that the EU and the PRC are
hopping into the same bed with Gallileo? *That* program is going to have
more impact on PRC military programs than did the old US tech transfers.

Brooks
>
> Keith
>