Charles R. Smith
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2001

The Chinese army has little time for the U.N. Beijing made it clear in 1995 that it expected a reward from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for not helping Iraq during the Gulf War. According to documents discovered at the U.S. Commerce Department, convicted Chinagate figure John Huang possessed detailed information that the Chinese government expected large weapons purchases from Kuwait.

"China also remains the only member of the UN Security Council that has not been awarded a large military contract from Kuwait. It is understood that the Chinese are pressing this issue with the Kuwait Government," notes the U.S. Commerce Department document.

Huang, a former Lippo banker and Clinton appointee at the U.S. Commerce Department, cited his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself nearly 2,000 times when asked if he was acting as an agent for the Chinese army. The documents from Huang's files were obtained from the Commerce Department using the Freedom of Information Act.

According to the Huang's files, in 1995 Kuwait allocated $1.3 billion to upgrade its field artillery. The Kuwaiti arms buy forced U.S.-based United Defense to compete with Chinese artillery maker China North Industries - Norinco.

"Heavy pressure from Chinese Government to select Norinco," states the Commerce Department document found in Huang's files. "The Chinese offer is of particular concern in that its howitzer has been recently modernized and configured to NATO standards for ammunition interoperability."

Despite the pressure, Norinco lost the contract to United Defense. It is well worth noting that the same Middle East allies under "heavy pressure" in 1995 from China to buy Norinco artillery are now watching Beijing upgrade Saddam Hussein's missile system.

China Plays the North Korea Card

Iraq is not the only major buyer of Chinese made weaponry. China exported advanced anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran in 1996 and sold supersonic fighters to Sudan in 1999. China was recently caught selling M-11 missiles to Pakistan in violation of several treaties. The export brought immediate sanctions from the Bush administration against a Chinese army company.

While U.S. President Bush is preparing to travel to Beijing to talk about missiles, Chinese President Jiang Zemin elected to visit North Korea and meet with Kim Jong Il. Jiang's visit to North Korea was a clear message to Washington on missile warfare.

Jiang and Kim are worried that the Bush anti-missile defense system will undercut profits and power. North Korea is often cited as a reason for a limited U.S. missile defense. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have expressed interest in a joint missile defense against North Korea and China.

Following the recent meeting between Kim and Jiang, unconfirmed diplomatic reports have filtered out of Beijing, saying that North Korea had agreed to delay missile testing until 2003.

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chi once called North Korea to be as "lips are to teeth" for the Chinese army. Kim's reported delay is as much a threat as it is a promise to shoot another missile over Tokyo and on its way to Los Angeles.

Patriot Missile Defense

At least Bush will go to Beijing with some defense cards. China and North Korea face the U.S. Patriot missile. The U.S. Army deploys the Patriot missile to protect U.S. troops stationed in South Korea against North Korean ballistic missiles.

The anti-missile of Gulf War fame continues to be the front-line defense against missile attack around the world. The Patriot system has also been sold to Japan and Taiwan for missile defense against communist China.

How much does China know about the Patriot missile? Vice President Dick Cheney, while serving as secretary of defense to the previous President George Bush, accused Israel of selling Patriot missile technology to China after the Gulf war, a report hotly denied by Israel.

However, the Clinton administration, placing weapons exports in the hands of Assistant Secretary of Commerce Huang, made Patriot missile data available for the plucking. According to the files in Huang's office, South Korean defense forces were considering a major purchase of Patriot missiles.

Huang's missile documents contain details of a Nov. 3, 1994 meeting requested by Raytheon, the U.S. manufacturer of the Patriot missile. According to the documents, the meeting was held at the Commerce Department.

"Thank you for agreeing to host a meeting with representatives of Raytheon at 2:30 pm next Thursday, November 3," wrote Elliot.

"As we discussed, the purpose of the meeting is to brief you and other Commerce Department officials concerning Raytheon's efforts to sell the Patriot missile system to South Korea. Needless to say, we would like to request Commerce Department support for these efforts - and, in particular, for accelerated South Korean procurement of the Patriot."

Huang obtained detailed Patriot missile data from Raytheon including "Coalition" military tactical information on North Korean offensive missiles and a "U.S. Army analysis" of South Korean defenses. According to a Raytheon attachment, titled "Modernization of South Korean Air Defense", South Korea has no defense against a North Korean missile attack.

"The North Korean threat consists of primarily of high performance aircraft, cruise missiles and an extensive family of tactical ballistic missiles. The SCUD tactical ballistic missiles deployed by North Korea are a serious threat to all populated areas and industrial areas and military forces in South Korea," noted the Raytheon documentation.

"North Korea, as a leading developer and exporter of these weapons, will continue to increase the accuracy of its tactical ballistic missiles which raises the specter of selective destruction of key industrial assets such as nuclear power facilities. A Patriot defense can counter this growing threat and preclude the use of this threat as a future means of coercion," states the Raytheon document.

Weapons of Terror

The tiny North Korean dictatorship is China's closest ally in the Far East for good reason. China and North Korea fought together in the Korean War. Today they depend on ballistic missiles to fight a future war. It is no surprise that they share and export missile technology.

Before traveling to Beijing, President Bush should take the time to consider why John Huang had so many files on U.S. weapons like the Patriot anti-missile.

"The destabilizing influence of North Korea's tactical ballistic missile program must be countered with a defensive capability that can deny the use of these missile as weapons of terror against the people of South Korea," concluded the Raytheon document from Huang's files.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
China/Taiwan
Clinton Scandals
North Korea
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