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The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency [DIA] suspects Israel shared with China restricted U.S. laser weapons technology during a successful joint project to build the Tactical High-Energy Laser [THEL] battlefield anti-rocket laser gun, the Washington Times reports. The $131 million joint laser weapon program, was launched in 1996 in an effort to rapidly build a weapon capable of destroying Katyusha rockets, mortars and artillery. The THEL lasers, also known as the Nautilus system, is scheduled to be deployed in Israel later this year. Suspicions about China acquiring the know-how in Israel are based on reports from U.S. contractors who saw Chinese technicians working secretly with one of the Israeli companies involved in the laser weapons program, and also from a Chinese government scientist who knew details on the super-secret THEL system and asked for more details on it during an international symposium. In addition, the DIA reports Beijing is working on a high-energy deuterium laser with weapons application acquired from Russia. - China Reform Monitor No. 163, February 3, 1999 Despite US protests, US and Israeli officials say that China continues to transfer solid rocket fuel, propellants, and an array of test equipment. Timmerman adds, Iran is developing a series of solid-fuel ICBMs with Russian and Chinese help, much more advanced than the Sahab series. - China Reform Monitor, No. 96, July 14, 1998 Israel is continuing to sell China restricted U.S. military technology to Beijing, writes Professor Duncan L. Clarke in the Christian Science Monitor. Israel has conducted the transfers of cruise missile, air-to-air missile and sophisticated jet fighter technology over strenuous Pentagon objections. "This problem has certainly not gone away," says a State Department official. Israel has transferred Israel the world's most lethal air-to-air missile, the "Python 4," developed by a joint U.S.-Israel program; the "Star-1" cruise missile technology and "Delilah-2" missile which include U.S. stealth. Israel is also assisting China develop its next-generation J-10 jet fighter aircraft and airborne radar systems. Clarke adds, these sales clearly violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), which has not been enforced by the U.S. State Department or Congress. - China Reform Monitor, No. 102, July 27, 1998 -- November 11, 1999 U.S. Seeks to Curb Israeli Arms Sales to China             By STEVEN LEE MYERS           WASHINGTON -- Israel's sale of a sophisticated $250 million airborne           radar system to China has raised serious concerns at the Pentagon, and           the Clinton administration has quietly urged Israeli officials to cancel           delivery of additional radar planes and to curb other weapons sales to the           Chinese military, administration and Defense Department officials said           Wednesday.           Israel has long had a close, secretive military relationship with China that           arms experts say has resulted in billions of dollars of weapons sales in           recent years and raised a variety of concerns in the United States.           But senior Pentagon officials fear that the advanced radar system, in           particular, will enhance China's ability to extend its military might beyond           its borders and threaten Taiwan.           "It is a significant capability," a senior official said, "and it will improve           significantly China's ability to conduct operations in and around the           Taiwan Strait. That obviously is our major security interest in the region."           Workers at Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, recently           mounted the radar system on a Russian-made cargo plane destined for           the Chinese Air Force, completing the first part of a complex deal that           has been several years in the making.           Elta designed the system, known as the Phalcon, for the Israeli Air           Force, to be installed in a Boeing 707. China is reportedly interested in           buying four to eight more of the systems and placing them aboard           Russian aircraft.           The sale of the radar system, as well as other Israeli arms deals with           China, have put a strain on the administration's relationship with one of           Washington's closest allies.           The Israeli government has assured administration officials that the sale           does not involve American technology. But a Pentagon official said that           given the amount of weaponry that the United States shared with Israel, it           was difficult to separate American military technology from Israel's own.           "Given the very close relationship that we have, there is always the           danger that some of this technology could pass from Israel to China," the           official said.           Administration officials have repeatedly raised the issue with the Israelis,           as Defense Secretary William S. Cohen did on his trip to Israel last           month, the officials said.           A Pentagon delegation led by Jacques S. Gansler, the under secretary for           defense acquisition and technology, arrived in Israel Wednesday for a           previously arranged visit. Although the sale is not explicitly part of           Gansler's agenda, it is very likely to come up.           During his visit, Cohen also expressed objections to Israel's reported           plans to sell Popeye air-to-surface missiles to India, particularly at a time           of tensions between India and Pakistan, the officials said. The Popeye           missile was jointly developed by the United States and Israel.           "There is no treaty prohibiting conventional arms transfers to China, and           our laws don't prohibit transfers when they do not involve American           technology," the State Department's spokesman, James P. Rubin, said in           the administration's only public statement on the issue Wednesday. "But it           is true that Israeli arms transfers are an active subject of our dialogue with           Israel."           The news of the sale to China has provoked sharp reactions on Capitol           Hill, from opponents of China, as well as arms control advocates.           Representative Porter J. Goss, Republican of Florida, the chairman of the           House Intelligence Committee, said today that the sale underscored the           fact that China's military was "extremely acquisitive" and raised questions           about the possibility of "American parentage" of some of the technology.           He said he had sought further clarification from the administration, but left           little doubt about what he viewed as China's intentions.           "What is the point of a long-range radar surveillance?" he said. "It has to           do with an offense that extends their border or certainly their area of           hegemony."           Representative Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on           the House International Relations Committee, said it was "bad policy" for           Israel to sell advanced weaponry to China, particularly since China had a           record of selling weapons to countries opposed to the United States and           Israel, including Iran. He met today with Israel's ambassador to the           United States, Zalman Shoval, but declined to discuss their meeting.           The political sensitivity of the Israeli sale has been heightened by a series           of confrontations the United States has had with China over its arms           programs, including the suspected transfer of advanced computer           technology to China's military and accusations that China stole American           nuclear secrets.           During the cold war, China bought weapons from many Western           suppliers, including American allies like Britain, France and Italy, as well           as from the United States, which sold Blackhawk helicopters to China.           Sanctions imposed by the United State and European Union after           Chinese troops killed pro-democracy demonstrators around Tiananmen           Square in Beijing in 1989 largely dried up those sales, though France and           Italy have shown an eagerness to resume arms sales to the Chinese.           Since the 1990's, China has embarked on a major program to modernize           its military and has looked elsewhere. By far its biggest arms supplier has           been Russia, which has sold it MIG fighter jets, warships, submarines           and missiles.           Israel is China's second-largest supplier. A recent report by Kenneth W.           Allen and Eric A. McVadon of the Henry L. Stimson Center, a research           organization in Washington, said Israel had provided China with a range           of weapons -- including electronic components for tanks,           communications and optical equipment, aircraft and missiles -- during a           relationship that began at least two decades ago. Full diplomatic ties           were not established until 1997.           "Both China and Israel appear to gain military and political benefits from           the arms and technology transfer relationship," the report said. "Besides           seeking money from China, some Israeli officials claim the sale of military           technology to China will secure Beijing's agreement not to sell specific           weapons to Israel's enemies in the Middle East."           The sale of the Phalcon radar system is part of a complicated           arrangement that began with Israel and Russia competing to sell China an           aircraft equipped with an early warning radar system. In 1997, Benjamin           Netanyahu, then Israel's prime minister, went to Moscow and reached an           agreement with Russia to develop the aircraft jointly, with Russia           supplying the aircraft itself and Israel adding the radar system.           Israel does not disclose many details of its arms sales to China. A           spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, Mark Regev, declined to discuss the           radar sale Wednesday.           But, he said, when Israel considers any sale, "there is a very elaborate           system whereby national security issues are taken into account."           The Russian aircraft arrived in Israel on Oct. 25. American intelligence           reports say that the work is expected to be completed by the end of this           year, and that after testing in Israel the radar system could be delivered to           China in the spring.           What makes the sale troubling to Pentagon officials is that the radar           system is comparable to and might exceed the abilities of the American           early warning radar planes, called Awacs, a recent intelligence report           concluded, according to a senior military officer.           The system will allow Chinese commanders to collect intelligence and           direct aircraft from a distance of 250 miles. Access to advanced           electronic and information-gathering equipment has long been one of the           weaknesses of China's military, though one that it appears bent on           addressing, arms experts say.           The United States has provided advanced weaponry, including fighter           jets, to Taiwan, which China regards as rightfully part of its territory. In           July, the administration notified Congress that it intended to sell Taiwan           advanced early warning radar aircraft, including E-2T Hawkeyes, and           other radar systems, but not the more sophisticated Awacs.  -- November 11, 1999 Ignoring U.S. Disapproval, Israel to Sell Radar to China By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- Israel is going ahead with a long-standing plan to mount an advanced radar system on a Russian-made cargo airplane and sell it to China despite a quiet appeal from the Pentagon to cancel delivery, Israeli officials said Thursday. "The United States was aware of this particular project for a number of months," Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Regev said. President Clinton said U.S. military officials "had good reason to have questions" about the project. He said the facts of the case were in dispute, and did not elaborate. "We have raised it with them," Clinton told reporters at the White House. "We raise it whenever any of our friends sell sophisticated equipment that might be American in origin." A White House spokesman, David Leavy, said Secretary of Defense William Cohen and a predecessor, William Perry, both had raised with Israeli officials the general subject of Israeli arms sales to China. "We have to be concerned about technology transfers that could harm U.S. interests," Leavy said. But, he added, "we certainly recognize Israel's right to develop its indigenous defense industry" and said the radar technology had no U.S. origins. In the last five years, sales of Israeli military technology to China has declined significantly, but the Pentagon still was concerned about enhancing China's military might, the Israeli officials said. It was a quiet military-to-military pitch, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Regev, the Israeli spokesman, said in a statement that Israel has an elaborate system of checks and controls on defense-related exports by Israeli corporations and gives "very high consideration" to the special strategic and political relationship Israel has with the United States. "No one in the administration, in the State Department or the Pentagon, is saying that U.S. technologies are involved in this project," Regev said. "Israel strictly abides by its legal and contractual obligations to the U.S. on these matters." The Israeli spokesman added: "No U.S. military technology is involved in this project." Workers at Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, recently mounted the radar on the cargo plane, the first step in a deal many years in the making, the Israeli officials said. Israel, noted for its sophisticated technology and its constant updating of military equipment to defend against potential Arab foes, long has had a quiet military relationship with China and is a major arms merchant. The United States ranks first in weapons sales around the world, and Britain is second. The radar system, known as Phalcon, was developed by the Israeli Air Force for installation in a Boeing 707. An account of the deal appeared Thursday in The New York Times.