Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Let me get this straight.


The United States is pissed at Israel for allegedly concealing from Washington an upgrade of a major weapons system it sold to China more than a decade ago.

China is using arms sales to Iran and other producing countries in order to cement ties. Thus Israel is selling weapons to China who might be passing them on to Iran who wants to attack Israel.

Now Israel is seeking to stop a missile deal between Russia and Syria.

Reference:
Through bilateral agreements, rather than international mechanisms, and using arms sales and dual-use technology transfers - nuclear equipment, guidance systems for missiles - to cement ties, China has obtained oil exploration and exploitation rights in some of the most turbulent nations in the Middle East and North Africa - Iran, Sudan, Libya, Algeria and, until the recent war, Iraq.
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http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=041118&cat=news&st=newsd86e9qbo0&src=....

Israel's relationship with its closest ally, the United States, seems to have hit a rough patch, with Washington apparently upset with Israel's clandestine dealings with China. The spat is not new, however. It has its roots in a decade-old issue. Old suspicions have returned. It is an explosion into the public domain of a row that has been going on for a few years.

The quarrel is over Israel's alleged concealing from Washington of an upgrade of a major weapons system it sold to China more than a decade ago. The United States claims that by upgrading the system, Israel violated its commitment not to transfer US technology to China without Washington's permission. Israel, however, insists that the upgrade was really just routine maintenance of a system that had originally been sold to China with US approval.
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Israel and China find themselves embroiled in a potentially damaging argument over Israeli manufactured drone aircraft, purchased by China and sent to Israel for an upgrade.

An Israeli military official said that the United States has demanded that Israel confiscate the drones, fearing that they could upset the military balance between China and Taiwan.
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