MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Pak admits Chinese help in developing missile technology

Pakistan for the first time on Thursday admitted its co-operation with China in the field of missile technology, which it said is within the parameters of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

"There is no international regime that prohibits co-operation within the MTCR. I simply want to say that co-operation within MTCR is permissible by international law," Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said in an interview to the Kyodo news agency.

His statement came amidst reports from United States' Central Intelligence Agency that Chinese missile-related technical assistance to Pakistan has increased. The US has admitted its failure to halt Chinese assistance to Pakistan's nuclear missile programme.

Sattar said Islamabad had been 'forced' to create its missile programme because of India's. He said Pakistan has an indigenous missile programme that has been developed over a number of years. "We have sizeable manpower, a number of engineers and scientists who are working in this field."

"Finally, does China co-operate with Pakistan in this field?" he asked himself before answering, "In the 1990s, China supplied a small number of tactical missiles, which means short-range missiles. China also explained very candidly that it would not export missiles in violation of the MTCR," Sattar said.

He said the Chinese government has made it clear that it would scrupulously observe MTCR criteria. "I do not know what the CIA had to say specifically, but I do want to say that co-operation within MTCR is perfectly permissible."

The MTCR, concluded in 1987, bans the export of missiles having a maximum range of 300 kilometres.

The US has admitted its failure to halt Chinese assistance to Pakistan's nuclear missile programme, saying the issue remained unresolved despite substantive discussions between the two countries.

"We have raised with senior Chinese officials on numerous occasions our concerns about reports that Chinese entities have provided assistance to missile programmes in Pakistan but they are not listening to what the US is saying," state department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

He said dialogue and engagement were still the best means to solve the issue. "We are encouraged by China's willingness to engage in these discussions."

Tell us what you think of this report