Author:
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: February 5, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/315560/Made-in-China.html
In jihadi hands via Iran
If wannabe super-power China wishes to be
a credible force on the international stage, it must stop behaving like a
rich, spoiled brat and instead grow up and behave responsibly. Leaked US diplomatic
cables published by Wikileaks have shown that Chinese companies are continuing
to sell Iran materials used to build conventional weapons of mass destruction
and other small arms, which the latter promptly passes on to its militant
friends in Iraq and Afghanistan. Consequently, insurgents in the region have
been using those Made-in-China weapons, which include guns, rocket-propelled
grenades and surface-to-air missiles containing Chinese-made components against
the US-led armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as against civilian
targets in the region. Needless to say, this has put a dampener on the already
taut US-China relations. Worse still, Beijing's decision to covertly support
Iran, a country that is known as the global sponsor for terrorism, will ultimately
damage China's reputation as well as hurt its relationship with other countries
across Western world. Ultimately, Beijing's supply of arms and military technology
to Iran sets a bad precedent on nonproliferation issues and it is only a matter
of time before other powerful but rogue states follow in its footsteps. The
leaked cables have revealed that US diplomats feared that Chinese companies
were also selling materials to Iran that could possibly be used to build nuclear
missiles and other weapons of mass destruction. This is a very serious threat
to regional as well as global security and it is imperative that China stops
fooling around with Iran, or at least take responsibility and ensure that
weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the hands of terrorists and Islamist
militants.
The cables attribute China's slip-up to its
failure to effectively enforce both United Nations Security Council resolutions
on the sale of arms and weapons material as well as its own export control
laws, but it is hard to believe that Beijing just carelessly sent a few boxes
of guns and ammunitions to Tehran. If anything, it reeks of a Cold War-style
strategic manoeuver that will not only undermine US influence in the region
but may also add another potential West Asia theatre to its ongoing military
engagements. No wonder, US officials had to undertake a major diplomatic offensive,
as has been revealed by a "secret" cable sent out in September 2008,
to pressurise Beijing into revising its arms deals with Tehran. Through its
Ambassadors, Washington had to plead key European countries, such as Spain,
Italy and Poland to convince Beijing to stop Chinese companies from selling
ammunitions to Tehran, which it was distributing to terrorists in the region.
However, it must also be mentioned that China is not the only rogue arms seller
in the global defence industry and perhaps, predictably so: The arms business
is a lucrative one and it seems like everyone wants a share of the pie, irrespective
of its consequences for global security. The cables have sadly revealed that
several small European Union nations have also failed to undertake stringent
control measures when exporting arms and materials to countries such as Iran.
Apparently, some countries had to be 'continually reminded' that the situation
in West Asia is dangerous and if mishandled, could lead to a nuclear war.
