China Secretly Shipping Cuba Arms
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
WASHINGTON -- China is shipping arms and explosives to Cuba in a sign of increased military cooperation between Beijing and Havana, The Washington Times reported Tuesday.
Intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said details of the arms shipments are sketchy but all involved a "known Chinese arms dealer" who arranged the transfers.
The Times said at least three arms shipments were traced from China to the Cuban port of Mariel over the past several months.
All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co., Cosco, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
The arms shipments to Cuba could lead to the imposition of economic sanctions on China and Cosco, according to U.S. officials.
Cuba has been increasing its ties to China in recent months. In April, Chinese President Jiang Zemin traveled to Havana and signed agreements worth about $400 million in loans to Havana.
Wei Jiafu, Cosco group president and chief executive officer, told reporters and editors of The Washington Times on June 2 that the shipping line has no connection to the Chinese military and is only interested in making money.
Wei insisted during the interview that the People´s Liberation Army had no influence on the company´s operations or global business strategy.
Cosco has been linked in the past by U.S. intelligence agencies to illegal smuggling and international arms trafficking.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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