Seized Chinese Missiles Raise Concerns On China

Some of the weapons that officials said were seized off the coast of Yemen in January, from a dhow seen leaving an Iranian port. Yemeni Defense Ministry, via Reuters

Chinese Missiles Bound For Terrorists Raise Concerns On China -- Gordon G. Chang, World Affairs

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that in January US and Yemeni forces seized ten sophisticated heat-seeking Chinese-made antiaircraft missiles on an Iranian dhow bound for a Shiite terror group, an Iranian proxy, in northwestern Yemen. These “extremely worrisome” shoulder-fired weapons are highly sought after by terror groups and represent a major threat to military and civilian aircraft alike.

These weapons, Chinese QW-series man-portable air-defense systems, or manpads, had markings indicating they were manufactured by the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation, a Chinese state enterprise. American and Yemeni officials also reported finding other weapons hidden on the vessel, including 95 RPG-7 launchers, 17,000 blocks of Iranian C-4 plastic explosives, Russian-made night-vision goggles, and 379,000 cartridges for PK machine guns and Kalashnikov rifles. The Times’s headline read, “Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns on Iran.” It should have read, “Seized Chinese Missiles Raise Concerns on China.”

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My Comment: The Chinese government tightly controls it's arms industry and on who they can export to. The discovery of these anti-aircraft missiles is disturbing because it tells me that Beijing has permitted not only the sale of such weapons to Iran, but they have also permitted the transfer of such weapons to Iran's allies. Will Hezbollah and/or Hamas be the next recipients of such weapons .... I can visualize certain nightmare scenarios unfolding.

Is China Arming Iran?

Some of the weapons that officials said were seized off the coast of Yemen in January, from a dhow seen leaving an Iranian port. Yemeni Defense Ministry, via Reuters

Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns on Iran -- New York Times

An Iranian dhow seized off the Yemeni coast was carrying sophisticated Chinese antiaircraft missiles, a development that could signal an escalation of Iran’s support to its Middle Eastern proxies, alarming other countries in the region and renewing a diplomatic challenge to the United States.

Among the items aboard the dhow, according to a review of factory markings on weapons and their packing crates, were 10 Chinese heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles, most of them manufactured in 2005.

The missiles were labeled QW-1M and bore stencils suggesting that they had been assembled at a factory represented by the state-owned China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation, sanctioned by the United States for transfers of missile technology to Pakistan and Iran.

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Update: Anti-aircraft missiles Iran was trying to ship to Yemeni proxy were made at factory of state-owned Chinese corp. -- All Voices

My Comment: I guess this is one way for China to pay off it's oil debt to Iran. More news on another Chinese trader who is violating sanctions on Iran over missile and nuclear parts is here. As to the implications of Iran arming it's Middle Eastern proxies in the region with sophisticated weapons .... it is obvious that the shadow war that Iran has been waging in the region is slowly escalating into an open conflict.

Iran Has Only Four Customers For It's Oil

Image credit: Office of Iran's President

Asia Is Purchasing Nearly all of Iran’s Oil -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

Four Asian countries are now purchasing nearly all of Iran’s oil exports according a report this week from the Economist’s Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“Almost all of Iran's oil exports now go to China, South Korea, Japan and India,” the report said even as it noted a sharp decline in the amount of oil each country purchased from Iran during 2012.

Iran’s oil exports have been cut in half as a result of U.S. and EU sanctions that were enacted last year to pressure Tehran into making concessions on its nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at acquiring a nuclear weapons capability but Iran claims is intended solely for peaceful purposes.

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My Comment: And I suspect that China and the other Asian countries are getting a very good price for that oil.

U.S. Report: China Aided Iran’s Missile, Nuclear Programs

From Beijing With Love -- Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

China aided Iran’s missile, nuclear programs, report states.

China’s government provided goods and expertise for Iran’s nuclear program in the past and also gave Tehran’s Islamist regime missiles and other arms as part of the nations’ anti-United States policies, according to a congressional commission report made public Thursday.

“The authoritarian governments centered in Beijing and Tehran share an animus towards ‘hegemonism’ and a fear of internal instability,” the report prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission states.

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My Comment: The report is here. What's my take .... China is not our friend or ally .... they are our global economic competitor, and in the Asian theater they are our political/military adversary. As for Iran .... need I need to say more? Both countries are dependent on each other for trade, oil, and technology .... international sanctions mean nothing to them. As for the report itself .... bottom line .... the report is just stating the obvious.

China Circumventing Sanctions Against Iran

Chinese President Hu Jintao with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Photo from Asia News

U.S. Says Chinese Businesses And Banks Are Bypassing U.N. Sanctions Against Iran -- Washington Post

The Obama administration has concluded that Chinese firms are helping Iran to improve its missile technology and develop nuclear weapons, and has asked China to stop such activity, a senior U.S. official said.

During a visit to Beijing last month, a delegation led by Robert J. Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, handed a "significant list" of companies and banks to their Chinese counterparts, according to the senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue in U.S.-Chinese relations. The official said the Obama administration thinks that the companies are violating U.N. sanctions, but that China did not authorize their activities.

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More News On China Circumventing Sanctions Against Iran

Chinese companies aiding Iran in its nuclear push, says US -- Sydney Morning Herald
US says Chinese firms ignoring Iran sanctions -- AFP
Chinese 'break nuclear bans' -- The Australian/AFP
'U.S. believes Chinese companies are helping Iran develop nukes' -- Haaretz

Why China Will Not Help In Levying Sanctions Against Iran And Other Countries

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington April 12, 2010. President Hu Jintao arrived in Washington on Monday to attend the Nuclear Security Summit slated for April 12-13. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chinese Firms Boost Nuclear Threats: Proliferation Aids Terrorists -- Washington Times

Unchecked proliferation by Chinese firms has undermined a global effort to keep nuclear and missile technology out of the hands of terrorists.

The transfer of such technology to countries such as Pakistan and Iran, which are considered vulnerable to an attack by terrorists or rogue insiders, is the cause of much anxiety in the international community. Kicking off the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington this week, President Obama described nuclear terrorism as the "single biggest threat to U.S. security."

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My Comment: Bottom line .... it is all about the money and international alliances. But what makes this entire episode in international relations frustrating, is that much of the technology that China has acquired over the years has come from us, and it is this tech that is now being transferred to countries like Iran, Pakistan, and others.

I know that President Obama feels confident that China will help in imposing and enforcing sanctions against Iran .... but as the Washington Times article clearly points out, China's business relationship with Iran operates on numerous and divergent levels, and the monies involved are huge.

How huge is China's investment in Iran, the following EIN News Report summarizes it perfectly .....

If China were to fall in line and sanction Iran, it would mean a loss of 10 to 12% of its oil imports, the aborting of some $80 billion in development projects and the sacrifice of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil, which the Chinese have locked in futures contracts, DawnNews reports.

China has already made a decision on how to work with Iran, and they are putting their money on the line in developing future projects and trade. As to what the sanction sponsoring countries want .... the Chinese are only giving vague commitments and promises.

It is not hard to see where this is all going.

Why Is China Becoming The Main Obstacle To Sanctions Against Iran's Nuclear Program

UN Efforts To Curb Iran’s Nuclear Plans Hit By Chinese Diplomatic Snub -- Times Online

China is to deliver a carefully calibrated diplomatic snub at a meeting today to discuss UN sanctions aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

After postponing the six-power meeting for weeks, China said at the last minute that it would be represented by a junior diplomat — even though Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States are all sending top officials.

Western diplomats say that China is now taking a harder line than Russia in opposing further UN sanctions on Tehran. One said that Beijing seemed more interested in energy security than preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. China imports about 15 per cent of its oil from Iran.

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My Comment: I suspect that the relationship between China and Iran is more deeper than what is being disclosed. While I suspect that oil security is probably the main reason why China is adopting this stance, it is also a means for them to show their independence from the main powers to the rest of the world.

Is this a smart approach .... probably not .... but it is the approach that China has adopted, and for the moment they are not going to change.

How Iran Might Beat Future Sanctions: The China Card

A general view shows the Lavan oil refinery, Iran.
Behrouz Mehri / AFP / Getty

From Time Magazine:

Iran may have an ace in the hole as Western governments weigh sanctions in response to the often violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators. The card Tehran is likely to play? China.

On July 13 Iran's Oil Ministry announced that it had China's agreement to invest about $40 billion in refining Iranian gasoline. The deal would include financing the major new Hormoz refinery in southern Iran, which will be able to produce about 300,000 bbl. of gasoline and kerosene a day once the four-year construction project is completed. China would also overhaul Iran's aging Abadan refinery in the south so that its production could increase by 29%, according to Iranian oil officials, who provided no deadline for that project.

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My Comment: It is all about energy/oil and China's need for it. China is going to bend all the rules to get a supply from Iran .... and Iran is more than happy to oblige this need.