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Prolif treaties and coop can’t check—China ignores its own implication in illicit nuc business to NoKo and Iran

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Prolif treaties and coop can’t check—China ignores its own implication in illicit nuc business to NoKo and Iran Wall Street Journal 16 (“China’s proliferation Double Game,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/28/2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-proliferation-double-game-1454027211) KC John Kerry was in Beijing Wednesday to beseech Chinese leaders to help punish North Korea for its escalating nuclear misbehavior. To see why the Secretary of State’s efforts are unlikely to bear fruit, consider the recent war of words between Beijing and a Kerry lieutenant who dared utter an inconvenient truth about China’s role in illicit weapons proliferation. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman told reporters last week that “when North Korea and Iran seek to purchase high-technology materials or equipment for their nuclear and missile programs, the place that they like to shop is China.” He added a plea “that China exercise the same degree of vigilance and control on strategic trade with Iran and North Korea as other countries do.” Mr. Countryman is right. For decades North Korea has turned to Chinese companies for missile essentials such as specialty steel, gyroscopes and precision-grinding machinery. North Korean aircraft with suspicious cargo have used Chinese airspace and refueling facilities, and North Korean ships that have visited China have later been found trafficking arms and missile technology to Iran and elsewhere. Chinese specialists began helping Iran mine uranium and produce uranium hexafluoride in the 1980s, around the time that China also began selling Iran missile components. As nuclear expert and former U.S. Air Force Secretary Thomas Reed has noted, China helped Iran build its uranium-conversion facility at Esfahan and its laser-enrichment plant at Karaj. The United Nations first sanctioned Tehran’s nuclear program in 2006, but Chinese entities continued exporting illicit metals and chemicals to Iran anyway. Since 2009, even as most Obama Administration officials have avoided the candor displayed by Mr. Countryman, the U.S. has sanctioned Chinese entities for illicit-weapons proliferation at least 18 times. The personification of China’s continuing racket is Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee, a prolific trader and manufacturer of high-tech missile technology who is under U.S. indictment for sanctions-busting and money laundering. There is an Interpol “red alert” out for Mr. Li, but Beijing pretends he doesn’t exist. “If you were to take apart an Iranian missile, there’s a good chance you’d find at least one component inside that’s passed through Lee’s hands,” a British analyst told Newsweek last year. Download 357.18 Kb. Share with your friends: