Author: Sridhar Krishnaswami
Publication: The Hindu
Date: July 7, 2000
WASHINGTON, JULY 6. Arguing
that Pakistan and China had teamed up to surround India and create
an alarming potential for instability in Asia, the Democratic Congressman
from New Jersey, Mr. Frank Pallone, has urged the Clinton administration
to impose sanctions on Beijing for its assistance to the Pakistani
missile development programme.
``China and Pakistan
both consider India to be their major strategic threat - which is
absurd given that India has been the victim of both Pakistani and
Chinese aggression. But given that shared strategic outlook on the part
of China and Pakistan, it is clear that these two nations have teamed
up to surround India and create an alarming potential for instability
in Asia,'' the lawmaker said.
Mr. Pallone called on
the administration to get ``tough'' with Beijing saying that while
Pakistan remained under sanctions for its nuclear explosions and
the military coup of last year, Washington had been trying to influence
Beijing through a policy of ``comprehensive engagement''. In his
view, this policy with respect to Pakistan was not working. ``It's time
to get tough with Beijing,'' he added.
Against the backdrop
of recent intelligence reports of China stepping up assistance to
Pakistan's long-range missile programme, Mr. Pallone, in a letter
to the President, Mr. Bill Clinton, said sanctions must be imposed on
China ``forthwith'', noting that China had been ``penalised'' in 1991 and
1993 for supplying M-11 missiles.
``As we work to heighten
our cooperation with India on such issues as security, non-proliferation
and terrorism, it seems inconsistent not to hold China accountable
for actions that directly threaten the security of India and which
will inevitably spur a heightened arms race on the sub-continent,''
he said in the letter.
China's continued, and
perhaps heightened, support to Pakistan's nuclear and missile development
programmes had given rise to serious concern on Capitol Hill; and
the administration was anxious that the latest revelations - not
very surprising though - would not come in handy to the Senate, now
considering the issue of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status for China.
``... if the administration
considers PNTR passage so important, it must demonstrate to Congress
that it is serious about cracking down on China's violation of non
proliferation agreements,'' Mr. Pallone said. The PNTR bill passed
the House of Representatives and at one time it was said its passage
in the Senate was only a matter of time, but now prominent Conservative
Senators are thinking of attaching tough amendments which could prove
troublesome for the White House.
Hardline Republicans
have consistently pointed out that the Clinton administration, for
political and economic reasons, had been looking the other way on
China going back on its ``commitments'' on non-proliferation issues.
For the last several years, intelligence agencies had been warning
the administration of some of Beijing's dubious relationships and
transactions with countries such as Pakistan.
