By Bill Sammon. The
Washington Times. June 13, 2001.
The State Department yesterday confirmed that China has been delivering
military equipment to Cuba, but signaled that the weapons were not 'lethal´
enough to trigger sanctions against Beijing.
"We are very much concerned with this PLA (People´s
Liberation Army) cooperation and movement of military equipment into Cuba,"
said James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, during a
House subcommittee hearing.
The transfer was first reported yesterday by The Washington Times,
which disclosed that the material included "military-grade" dual-use
explosives and detonation cord. But the State Department signaled such weapons
would not prompt retaliation against China.
"There´s a U.S. law that prohibits providing various types of
assistance to foreign governments that have provided, quote, 'lethal military
equipment´ to a country whose government is a state sponsor of terrorism,"
said State Department spokesman Phil Reeker, who repeatedly made that
distinction to reporters.
He noted that Cuba is also listed as a sponsor of terrorism.
"What I´m telling you, in reference to that law, is we have
not made a determination that China has transferred lethal military equipment to
Cuba," he added.
Republican members of Congress denounced such distinctions as a
pretense to preserve China´s trade with the U.S.
"We´re splitting hairs about what kind of weapons in order
not to trigger certain economic sanctions," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
of Florida. "But we do this at our own peril.
"I realize that all of this is tied to the economy and trying to
get cheap goods for the American consumer, but we´re going to pay a heavy
price for it down the road," warned the Cuban-born Republican. "It´s
going to hurt our national security."
Sen. Jesse Helms, North Carolina Republican, called for immediate
sanctions against the Chinese for spreading weaponry "to the back yard of
the United States."
"The communist Chinese have now tipped their hands for all to see,"
said the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "They
have expanded their spreading of weapons of all types, nuclear and otherwise, to
Cuba, 90 miles off our shores."
Mr. Helms blamed the deal on "neglect by the Clinton
administration," which took a much softer stance toward China and Cuba than
Mr. Bush. He also warned against turning a blind eye to national security
dangers for the sake of U.S.-Sino trade.
"This is a wake-up call to all who have hoped to make deals with
Red China and make profits doing so," Mr. Helms said. "It´s time
to wake up and smell the coffee -- by sanctioning China under applicable laws."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, asked Mr. Kelly during
yesterday´s hearing if the Bush administration would "grovel" in
the face of the Chinese transfer of arms and explosives. The senior State
Department official said no.
But the congressman said later in an interview that China was playing a
dangerous game by shipping military equipment to Cuba. He drew parallels between
the development and the attempt by the Soviet Union to put nuclear missiles in
Cuba 40 years ago.
"This is but another outrage on the part of communist China,"
Mr. Rohrabacher said. "It is an act of belligerence toward the United
States by the communist government in Beijing."
He added that the arms transfer -- coming on the heels of China
detaining 24 U.S. service members and their downed surveillance plane -- "should
be a clear message to people who have been irrationally optimistic about the
potential for our relations with Beijing."
"We need to bring to the Communist Chinese government in Beijing
an official notification that this is unacceptable and that there will be
repercussions if they continue delivering arms to Cuba," Mr. Rohrabacher
said. "And if they continue to do so, we will have to act and there will be
some very serious alterations in our trade arrangement with China."
President Bush made no mention of the arms transfer as he arrived in
Europe yesterday for a five-day visit. But he reiterated his resolve to keep
Cuba economically isolated.
"We plan to keep the embargo on Cuba, and will do so until Fidel
Castro frees prisoners, has free elections, embraces freedom," Mr. Bush
said during a press conference in Madrid. "I believe strongly that´s
the right policy for the United States."
A White House spokesman traveling with the president later declined to
comment on the specifics of the arms transfer.
China has been steadily intensifying its military relationship with
Cuba since last year, but yesterday´s report by The Times was the first
public disclosure that China had moved at least three shipments of arms to Cuba.
"I´ve been monitoring this situation for some time and have
even raised the Cuba-China connection in classified briefings with U.S.
intelligence agencies," said Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen. "But it wouldn´t
have even dawned on us that it would be at the weapons stage."
* Dave Boyer contributed to this report.
All site contents copyright © 2001 News World
Communications, Inc. | 