US, NATO oppose China's missile deal with Turkey

The US and NATO have applied enormous pressure to Turkey over the missile deal. And it's not the first time that the US has opposed China's military sale to other countries.

Both Washington and Brussels have voiced concerns over China's missile deal with Turkey. Media reports say that Obama is very upset about Turkey's decision, and that Obama touched on the issue twice during his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Amid the sustained pressure from the US and NATO, whether the deal will be signed is still a question. But if the deal is completed, it would be the first time that a Chinese defense weapon is sold to a NATO member. And this is the last thing that the US and NATO would like to see. In fact, over the past years, military deals between China and Israel have been called off several times due to US interference.

In 2000, Israel was set to sell China the Falcon, an airborne early-warning radar system, until it was forced by the United States to cancel the deal. In 2003, the US issued an order to Israel to terminate all contracts concerning exports of weapons and security equipment to China. And in 2005, as Israel decided to sell Harpy attack unmanned aerial vehicles plus upgrades to China, the US accused Israel of not notifying it beforehand and imposed a series of sanctions on Israel. Under the strong pressure, Israel backed off and sent a delegation to Washington, signing an MoU on Israeli weapon exports.

Meanwhile, US arms sales are setting new records despite the world economic downturn. In 2011, the contract value of US arms sales reached a whopping 66.3 billion USD. This represents 78% of global sales. And with the US shifting its strategic military focus to the Asia Pacific, analysts believe US arms sales in the region will surge in the coming years.

(Source: cntv.cn)