Opinion
UPDATED: 15:45, July 01, 2004
US blocking Israel bidding Beijing Olympics unreasonable
Cold water poured down when Israel was ready to participate in Beijing 2008 Olympics security cooperation: the United States prevented Israel from doing that and Israeli company could participate only in the cooperation as a secondary contractor. Israeli newspaper Haaretz and other media also made similar reports the next day. Considering the special relations between the United States and Israel, media were very cautious in reporting the matter.
Israeli govt sets no limit to technology export to China
Ehud Olmert, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade, visited China on June 21, accompanying him on the visit were nearly 200 personages from industrial and commercial enterprises. It is an economic and trade delegation of the largest in scale and the highest of level Israel had ever sent abroad in recent years.
Before departure, in his interview with Chinese reporters in Jerusalem Olmert said that the cooperation Israel and China would conduct in Beijing Olympics will include the latest safety technologies to be provided to China. He stressed that there is not any limit set to the Israeli government in regard to technology export, adding: We will not restrict technology purchase from China, nor will we limit technology export to China. We will sell as much as you want to buy.
However, as Olmert's conversation was switched to other topic, the case is different when it involves US-related technologies. Take the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft (AWACS aircraft) for example. This type of early warning aircraft contains some US-made parts and that's the reason why America sets restriction on it.
While in China, Olmert reiterated: in the coming 10 years, Israel will take China as one of the most important trade partners. He said telecommunication and security technology would undoubtedly become an extremely important and sensitive field in Beijing 2008 Olympics, as well as a major target of Israeli enterprises in their cooperation with China.
Israel leads the world in security technology
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has always been in a war state or in low-intensity conflicting, such a situation has stimulated Israel's development and renovation in the field of security technology. The continuously emerging new, sophisticated technologies have been in the leading position in the world for many years.
A technological transformation company under Hebrew University is mainly in charge of transferring research achievement to enterprises.
Presently, the company has 50 safety technological projects, one of which is dust spray able to probe explosives, another is color test technology able to identify the trace of metal weapon left on hand. There are many such companies in Israel.
After the"9.11" event in 2001, the overall international anti-terrorist situation even provided Israel with more business opportunities. In December 2003, Israel signed an agreement with Greece on offering assistance to Athens Olympic Games: assisting in checking the reliability of security measures, providing specialized technologies for dealing with suicidal bombings, providing intelligence on terrorist organizations and potential threat, etc.
Try to bypass US ban
Despite US restrictions on Israeli companies' direct participation in the security project of Beijing Olympic Games, Olmert held that Israeli companies can circumvent such limit through cooperation with international companies.
Military Attache with Israeli Embassy in China said that the United States has cancelled Israeli companies' bidding right for Beijing Olympic Games which otherwise is an opportunity. The road to Israeli companies' independent bidding has almost also been blocked in other areas. In his opinion, now the only opportunity for an Israeli company to participate in large project bidding is to act as a secondary contractor of giant international companies such as Siemens (China), US General Motor (China) etc.
US consistently creates obstructions
It is not surprising that the United States takes such an attitude. The United States has always been worried that Israeli products or services containing advanced US security technologies would be transferred to China. For this reason, the US side restrains those foreign munitions dealers selling sensitive military technologies and weaponry system to China from participating in cooperation in US military-related research. It presses Czechs not to sell "VERA" radar system and obstructs EU members from lifting arm embargo against China.
In regard to Sino-Israel cooperation in security technology, the United States has been consistently engaged in creating obstructions.
The event that had exerted the greatest influence was about the AWACS aircraft. In 1996, China and Israel reached agreement on China's purchase of three AWACS aircrafts. However, under US pressure, Israel unilaterally canceled the contract when one aircraft was about to be delivered and the other two under negotiation. As a result, Israel had to compensate US$350 million to China, and Sino-Israel political and economic relations were also seriously damaged and Israeli companies lost a slew of opportunities to enter China's market.
Afterwards, the United States surprisingly nodded approval of Israel's selling AWACS aircraft to India. It can be seen that the United States is selectively limiting Israel's technological export. In other words, the limit is directed more against China.
By People's Daily Online
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