[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 139 (Thursday, September 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
PAKISTAN CONTINUES MISSILE PURCHASES FROM CHINA AND ESCALATES TENSIONS 
                             IN SOUTH ASIA

                                 ______


                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 1994

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to call to the attention of my 
colleagues an article that appeared in the September 7 edition of the 
Washington Times regarding a major arms deal between the Islamic 
Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of China. This article, 
written by Bill Gertz, notes that United States intelligence agencies 
in August found new evidence that Pakistan is going forward with a plan 
to purchase M-11 missiles from China. The M-11 is capable of delivering 
a nuclear warhead. This disclosure is very ominous because it comes 
less than 2 weeks after the former Pakistani Prime Minister, Narwaz 
Sharif, announced publicly that Pakistan has possessed nuclear weapons 
for some time. The United States Government has suspected Pakistan of 
possessing the bomb for many years. For this reason, in 1987 Congress 
passed and President Reagan signed into law the Pressler amendment, 
which prohibits the United States from providing Pakistan with foreign 
aid unless the President certifies that Pakistan does not have a 
nuclear device. Although both President Bush and President Clinton have 
been unable to make such a certification, Pakistan has told the United 
States and the world community it does not possess nuclear weapons. 
Now, as the article correctly points out, nuclear proliferation experts 
are worried that Pakistan will use these weapons against India in a 
future war over Kashmir. Pakistan has gone to war with India over 
Kashmir three times in the last 40 years.
  Mr. Speaker, the issue of Pakistan buying M-11 missile technology 
from China is not new. In 1992, Pakistan paid $83 million to China for 
delivery of M-11 components and apparently the missiles themselves. The 
1992 shipments caused the Clinton administration to impose sanctions on 
China last year for violating the provisions of the Missile Technology 
Control Regime [MTCR]. The MTCR is an international nonproliferation 
agreement which China has not signed but which Beijing assured the 
United States in 1992 it would abide by. Despite this sanction, China 
continues to sell and Pakistan continues to purchase M-11 missiles as 
part of a plan to build a nuclear weapon delivery system which can be 
deployed in South Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to read the Times article. The 
article clearly shows that Pakistan's nuclear ambitions are a source of 
grave concern for the United States and every nation which is opposed 
to the growth of nuclear weaponry and the dangers it creates. The 
article also is ample evidence that any attempt by our Government to 
fashion a nuclear proliferation policy in the South Asian region that 
does not include China is destined to fail.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have the Times article placed 
in the Record at this point.

               [From the Washington Times, Sept. 7, 1994]

Pakistan-China Deal for Missiles Exposed: Nuclear Ambitions Spur United 
                             States Concern

                            (By Bill Gertz)

       U.S. intelligence agencies last month uncovered fresh 
     evidence that Pakistan was moving ahead with a deal to buy M-
     11 missiles from China, and this month Chinese missile 
     technicians are expected to arrive in Pakistan to help train 
     forces in their use, Pentagon and intelligence officials say.
       The missile transfer, the subject of U.S. sanctions against 
     China last year, has fueled new concerns among proliferation 
     experts in government that Pakistan will use the missiles to 
     deliver nuclear weapons.
       Adding to the concern was the announcement two weeks ago by 
     Pakistan's former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, that Pakistan 
     possesses a nuclear bomb. The statement confirmed long-held 
     suspicions about Islamabad's nuclear program.
       According to U.S. officials, Pakistan on Aug. 22 agreed to 
     pay China a $15 million installment on its 1988 contract with 
     the China Precision Machinery Import & Export Corp., a 
     government-owned missile producer, for an unspecified number 
     of M-11 missiles, launchers and support equipment.
       The last payment of $83 million took place in late 1992 and 
     coincided with the delivery of M-11 components, and possibly 
     missiles themselves, from China to Pakistan.
       The M-11 is a ballistic missile with an estimated range of 
     186 miles, a factor that restricts sales of the missile under 
     the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The MTCR is an 
     agreement among 25 nations to limit the transfer of missile 
     technology.
       A solid-fuel valiant of the Soviet Scud, the missile is 
     capable of carrying nuclear and high-explosive payloads, U.S. 
     officials have said.
       The 1992 shipment from China led the Clinton administration 
     to impose sanctions an Beijing in August 1993 for 
     transferring equipment that violates the MTCR. U.S. law 
     requires the imposition of sanctions for violations of the 
     agreement, which limit transfers of missiles with a range of 
     186 miles and payload capacities of 1,100 pounds.
       Beijing officials had assured Secretary of State James A. 
     Baker III in 1992 that China would abide by the MTCR.
       The sanctions were imposed against the China Precision 
     Machinery Import & Export Corp. which manufactures and 
     exports M-11s and similiar missiles.
       U.S. officials said there is strong evidence M-11s were 
     shipped as part of the cargo in November 1992, but spy 
     satellites have been unable to confirm their presence in 
     Pakistan.
       A team of Chinese missile technicians is expected in 
     Sargodha, Pakistan, within the next two weeks to train the 
     Pakistan military in using the M-11, according to officials 
     who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
       A separate team of Chinese technicians will go to Pakistan 
     to unpack and assemble the M-11s later this year after the 
     Sargodha missile facility is completed, the officials said.
       Pakistan repeatedly has delayed the arrival of the assembly 
     team because of concerns the missiles will be detected by spy 
     satellites, the officials said.
       Some intelligence reports indicate M-11s already are being 
     stored in Pakistan at Sargodha, but operational missiles have 
     not been seen.
       Spy satellite photographs taken this spring showed 
     canisters at the facility identical to those spotted at the 
     M-11 production facility in China.
       Intelligence analysts believed the canisters photographed 
     at Sargodha were mock-ups used as part of a training 
     exercise, although Pentagon officials believe the actual 
     missiles are in Pakistan.
       The latest action on the Pakistan-China missile transfer, 
     outlined in intelligence reports to senior U.S. officials 
     last week could unravel administration efforts to develop 
     closer ties with Beijing.
       Defense Secretary William Perry is expected to raise the 
     issue of the M-11 transfers, as well as a planned Chinese 
     underground nuclear test expected next month, in talks with 
     Chinese officials when he visits Beijing next month.
       Spokesmen for the Chinese and Pakistani embassies could not 
     be reached for comment. Both governments have denied that M-
     11s or components have been or will be transferred.
       Pakistan is developing a family of missiles known as the 
     Hatf. The Hatf-1 has a range of 50 miles, and the Hatf-2 has 
     a range of about 186 miles. A 372-mile range version, known 
     as the Hatf-3, also is being developed.
       Pentagon sources said the M-11s will either replace the 
     Hatf-2s or serve as a temporary system until the Hatf-2 is 
     fully developed and deployed.
       ``Selling out for money has bought the Clinton 
     administration nothing but contempt from Chinese arms 
     dealers,'' said a U.S. government specialist on China, 
     referring to a recent trip to China by Commerce Secretary Ron 
     Brown.
       Mr. Brown announced in China that the administration is 
     more concerned about promoting U.S. business than pressuring 
     Beijing to improve its human rights record or halting the 
     proliferation of Chinese weapons of mass destruction and 
     missile-delivery systems.
       A State Department official said the actual delivery of M-
     11s by China, which has not been confirmed by U.S. 
     intelligence, automatically would prompt tighter sanctions 
     against Beijing than the current restrictions imposed 
     last year. ``This would be extremely serious,'' he said.
       The State Department official said the missile transfers 
     would affect U.S. Chinese relations but that the 
     administration is trying to separate out concerns about 
     weapons proliferation from its overall strategic relationship 
     with China.
       ``There're going to be lots of problems with China,'' the 
     official said. ``But it's too complex a relationship to have 
     every issue linked.''
       The official said the Defense Intelligence Agency's view of 
     China's proliferation activities has been ``pretty aggressive 
     and verges on hysterical.''
       A DIA report to the Senate in May stated that China is 
     ``still actively supporting proliferation of weapons of mass 
     destruction'' with the approval of senior Chinese officials.
       Undersecretary of State Lynn Davis told reporters at the 
     time sanctions were first imposed that the administration did 
     not have evidence M-11s were in Pakistan, but that there was 
     ``conclusive evidence they're received from China material 
     relating to an M-11 missile.''
       Reports of the M-11 deal coincided with the visit by a 
     four-member team of MTCR officials to Pakistan and India last 
     week.
       Robert Einhorn, a senior official with the State 
     Department's bureau of political-military affairs, took part 
     in the visit, which a spokesman call ``an educational visit'' 
     aimed at informing the Pakistanis about the missile 
     agreement.

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