DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US May Intervene on Sale of Chinese Missile System to Turkey
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Want China Times(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - October 7, 2013: The United States may intervene to stop Turkey buying the FD-2000, the export version of China's HQ-9 surface-to-air missile, Burak Ege Bekdil wrote in Defense News on Oct. 3.
Turkey selected the FD-2000 for its new air defense system on Sept. 26, rejecting other options including the US Patriot system, Russia's S-300 and the European Aster 30. It will be used by the Turkish air force as a long-range air and anti-missile defense system to defend the airspace over the country's interior, while Patriot missiles deployed by NATO are guarding the country's border with war-torn Syria.
However, concern from the United States and other NATO members has arisen as to what extent the Chinese missile system can be integrated with the Patriot air defense system along the border, according to Bekdil. As China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp has been named the contractor for Ankara's first long-range air defense architecture, Washington is also worried about the proliferation of nuclear techonology into Turkey.
The Beijing-based company is currently under US sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. "We are concerned about that Chinese company, and its role as a nuclear weapons technology proliferator in the world," Francis Ricciardone, the US ambassador to Turkey, told Defense News. "This is not a NATO system. China is not a member of NATO. This is one of the issues."
Turkey's loyalty as a NATO member has also been called into question by the organization over fears that the integration of the two systems could lead to classified information regarding the Patriot system being leaked to China. "How could Turkey, protected by NATO assets, ignore the alliance's concerns and opt for an air defense system to be built by a non-friendly country?" asked a NATO defense attache.
A Turkish official stated that the FD-2000 was selected based on considerations of price, technology, local work share, technology transfer and credit financing terms.
"The Chinese bid is perfectly in compliance with our terms and conditions," said Murad Bayar, head of the Ankara-based Undersecretariat for Defense Industries. "As part of this program, a Turkish defense company will be tasked with integrating the air defense system into a network operated by the Turkish Air Force." Even though some Chinese techonology may be used, Bayar sought to assured the Defense News that the missile will be a Turkish missile, not Chinese.
Meanwhile, experts and analysts have questioned whether the FD-2000 will be allowed to be integrated with other NATO missile defense systems. "NATO has the technical capabilities to isolate the Turkish air defense architecture by denying Ankara the interface data necessary for any integration," said a Western defense official. This will eventually leave the FD-2000 system useless and give the United States a pretext to block the contract, as it has done in the case of Israel in the past.
*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Want China Times
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