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Defence circles doubt US's sincerity in preventing Chinese missile transfer

Even as South Block is preparing to take up with General Fu Quanyou the issue of Chinese incursions into Indian territory, defence circles in New Delhi have expressed their misgivings about the Clinton administration's sincerity in preventing Beijing from spreading missile technology.

General Fu, chief of the Peoples Liberation Army, is scheduled to lead a delegation to New Delhi on a week-long visit, as part of military-to-military confidence building measures.

Veteran members of the armed forces, now retired but who are part of a military think-tank, point out that their misgivings about Washington's sincerity in preventing the spread of Beijing's missile technology arose from concrete indicators.

While emphasising that Washington put much importance on the forthcoming visit to China of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, these defence experts pointed out that the Clinton administration officials had sought to obfuscate the Chinese role in providing Pakistan with missile technology.

This was evident from the Clinton administration's red-herring, in which an effort had been made to make North Korea the culprit. The latter had surreptitiously passed on the technology, the experts said, adding that it was common knowledge that Pakistan had built the IRBM Ghauri with Beijing's assistance.

Secondly, the Clinton administration's over-zealousness in blurring the Chinese role in the spread of missile technology was being done at the expense of the security scenario in south Asia, where India stood exposed to the threat emanating from the Beijing-Islamabad nexus, they said.

These defence personnel, however, clarified that a section of the Clinton administration was responsible for distorting the truth to suit their ends.

Referring to the transfer of the Chinese M-11 missile technology to Pakistan, it was stressed that the US intelligence agencies had highlighted Beijing's clandestine role but the Clinton administration had virtually overlooked it. As a result, there was no use blaming China which apparently felt emboldened to transfer missile technology, with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran being the main beneficiaries, the defence personnel pointed out,

However, they welcome the statements of President Bill Clinton's envoy Bill Richardson and US Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth, that Washington would take up with Islamabad the test-firing of the Ghauri missile which had created much tension in the subcontinent.

Referring to Defence Minister George Fernandes's statement today that the Indo-China dialogue level should be raised, the experts hoped that South Block would utilise the opportunity of the PLA chief's visit to make it mutually advantageous.

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