WASHINGTON, March 13: The Clinton administration has uncovered new evidence that China tried to sell nuclear equipment with weapons applications to Pakistan and Iran within the past several weeks. The evidence was revealed during an unusual closed-door hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations committee yesterday, says The Washington Times adding it undermines the administration's announced plan to certify that China has halted all efforts to export dangerous nuclear weapons technology. The disclosure also comes as the White House signaled that Clinton will move up the timetable for a summit in Beijing from November to June in order to solidify improved ties.The daily says attempted sales were mentioned briefly yesterday in prepared testimony before the secret hearing by Robert Einhorn, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Proliferation.
``In the past few weeks we have encountered reports of a new potentially troubling contacts by Chinese entities or individuals with countries of concern,'' Einhornsaid.The daily says the testimony did not give further details, but Einhorn urged the panel not to block the certification, noting that ``uncertainties'' in China's behaviour would continue and the nature of intelligence gathering was often ``ambiguous.''
It quoted other Government officials familiar with the reports on Chinese nuclear sales saying that Einhorn and John Lauder, director of the CIA's nonproliferation centre, presented details of efforts by Chinese manufacturers to sell nuclear components to the Iranian government program in charge of nuclear weapons and to facilities in Pakistan that are involved in nuclear weapons activities. The attempted sales took place earlier this year, the officials said. They added it was not clear if the sales were carried out, although the state department had accepted Chinese government assertions that no equipment changed hands.
Officials did not identify the Chinese company linked to the activities, but analysts suspect it was the China Nuclear Energy IndustryCorporation, which was involved in selling nuclear technology to Pakistan.
In January, Clinton formally certified that China had met nuclear nonproliferation requirements under a 1985 US-China agreement. The certification, if approved by Congress, would smooth the way for US nuclear manufacturers to sell equipment to China.
In 1996, US intelligence agencies discovered that China sold 5,000 ring magnets to Khan Research Laboratories in Pakistan, a nuclear weapons facility. The magnets provided Pakistan's nuclear weapons fuel programme with a major boost, but the administration declined to sanction China because senior Beijing leaders said they knew nothing of the transfer. In May 1996, Beijing promised to halt all nuclear sales to states that do not have nuclear arms. However, in September 1996 US intelligence found fresh evidence that China sold special industrial furnace and high-tech diagnostic equipment with military applications to ``unsafeguarded'' nuclear facilities in Pakistan.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
