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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: Israel "has a responsibility to be sensitive" to U.S. concerns regarding Israel's sale of military technology to China. (AP)
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06/19
Ynetnews |
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 17, 2005 |
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In repsonse to U.S. sanctions against the Israeli arms industry, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent comment that Israel "has a responsibility to be sensitive" to U.S. concerns regarding Israel's sale of military technology to China, the government decided to allow Washington to supervise its overseas weapon exports in a bid to smooth over flared tensions. Such regulations could torpedo deals with other nations, as well.
Security chiefs had agreed to the regulations after the U.S. government "closed the taps of sensitive and essential cooperation on Israel" in the past few months, a senior Israeli defense ministry source said.
Washington, a long-time partner to Israel in arms and munitions sales, had in recent weeks imposed sanctions on the Jewish state after finding out it had sold Harpy Killer drones to China by freezing some development projects and delivery of equipment.
Israel will next week submit a letter of apology to the U.S. regarding the affair, officials said, while the United States will arrange supervision on sales of weapons and advanced technology overseas, which it sees as harmful to American national security.
Israel says it has merely supplied ?support? for the drone system, as per the original contract of sale, but Pentagon sources say China sent spare parts to Israel to be upgraded, not merely maintained.
On Friday, Israel said its dispute with the U.S. over its military technology sales to China would be worked out soon.
"We are attentive to American concerns. The issue will be solved over the next few weeks and we will work out all the points of dispute," said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Rice told a news conference on Thursday that Israel "has a responsibility to be sensitive" to U.S. concerns, adding that American officials have had "difficult" discussions on the China sales with the Israelis.
"I think they understand now the seriousness of the matter," Rice said.
She said Washington is increasingly concerned about military modernization in China. The U.S. fears this could upset the security balance in Asia and make it more difficult for the United States to help defend Taiwan from a mainland attack.
China must not be allowed to undertake a "major military escalation" before there are assurances that it will be a "positive force" on the international scene, Rice said.
According to Israeli officials and recent media reports, the United States has imposed a series of sanctions on the Israeli arms industry in recent months because of its sales to China.
The United States has halted cooperation on several projects, frozen delivery of sensitive equipment, and is even refusing to answer telephone calls from Israeli defense officials, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported this past weekend.
The AP contributed to this report.
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