Globe: China's arms trade
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006, China's arms trade, Globe and Mail
Many arms producers deserve plenty of blame for making their weapons so easily obtainable by repressive regimes, terrorist groups and gangs of marauding thugs engaged in bloody conflicts and attacks on civilians in Africa, the Middle East and other volatile parts of the world. But as Amnesty International points out in a damning new report, few can hold a candle to China and its state-controlled arms industry.
Chinese companies, owned directly or indirectly by the state military or security apparatus, have poured arms, munitions and trucks into such hot spots as Sudan, Myanmar, Nepal, Iran and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. They often do so in violation of international embargoes and other sanctions, and make it harder to reduce the temperature of the conflicts and to bring repressive governments to heel. Among other troubling aspects of the Chinese arms trade, handguns made by a military-owned manufacturer have been implicated in violent street crimes in South Africa, Malaysia and other countries.
This anything-goes approach to exports of conventional weapons, small arms and equipment is utterly irresponsible. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a rising economic power with aspirations of global leadership. It should exercise some of that leadership by paying more than lip service to its international responsibilities.
"China describes its approach to arms export licensing as 'cautious and responsible,' yet the reality couldn't be further from the truth," the Amnesty report says. Alone among major exporters, China has refused to abide by multilateral agreements designed to prevent transfers of arms that could be used for human-rights abuses or that threaten regionalsecurity. Beijing also wraps its exports in secrecy.
Beijing flatly denies that it violates international codes of conduct governing arms transfers. "The charge comes out of nowhere, as China always abides by related international conventions and imposes rigid self-control in terms of arms export and transfer of military technologies," declared Teng Jianqun, a researcher with the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. "According to the United Nations Conventional Arms Register, China sells much less conventional weaponry to other countries than the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany."
That's undoubtedly true, but Beijing has not filed a report with the UN register in eight years. And the United States and European Union ban weapons shipments to Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Nepal and other countries that refuse to play by the rules. China does not. Moreover, Amnesty says the Chinese have shipped trucks to Sudan bearing U.S.-made engines, as well as helicopters with components that may have been supplied by Canadian and European companies, which violates the West's own embargo. These are not the actions of a good international citizen.
Many arms producers deserve plenty of blame for making their weapons so easily obtainable by repressive regimes, terrorist groups and gangs of marauding thugs engaged in bloody conflicts and attacks on civilians in Africa, the Middle East and other volatile parts of the world. But as Amnesty International points out in a damning new report, few can hold a candle to China and its state-controlled arms industry.
Chinese companies, owned directly or indirectly by the state military or security apparatus, have poured arms, munitions and trucks into such hot spots as Sudan, Myanmar, Nepal, Iran and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. They often do so in violation of international embargoes and other sanctions, and make it harder to reduce the temperature of the conflicts and to bring repressive governments to heel. Among other troubling aspects of the Chinese arms trade, handguns made by a military-owned manufacturer have been implicated in violent street crimes in South Africa, Malaysia and other countries.
This anything-goes approach to exports of conventional weapons, small arms and equipment is utterly irresponsible. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a rising economic power with aspirations of global leadership. It should exercise some of that leadership by paying more than lip service to its international responsibilities.
"China describes its approach to arms export licensing as 'cautious and responsible,' yet the reality couldn't be further from the truth," the Amnesty report says. Alone among major exporters, China has refused to abide by multilateral agreements designed to prevent transfers of arms that could be used for human-rights abuses or that threaten regionalsecurity. Beijing also wraps its exports in secrecy.
Beijing flatly denies that it violates international codes of conduct governing arms transfers. "The charge comes out of nowhere, as China always abides by related international conventions and imposes rigid self-control in terms of arms export and transfer of military technologies," declared Teng Jianqun, a researcher with the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. "According to the United Nations Conventional Arms Register, China sells much less conventional weaponry to other countries than the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany."
That's undoubtedly true, but Beijing has not filed a report with the UN register in eight years. And the United States and European Union ban weapons shipments to Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Nepal and other countries that refuse to play by the rules. China does not. Moreover, Amnesty says the Chinese have shipped trucks to Sudan bearing U.S.-made engines, as well as helicopters with components that may have been supplied by Canadian and European companies, which violates the West's own embargo. These are not the actions of a good international citizen.
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