If ongoing Chinese missile deployments and nuclear proliferation are not addressed and if we do not provide access to effective missile defenses to U.S. allies in Asia such vulnerable countries may have little choice but to try to develop their own means of nuclear defense or deterrence. We should not forget that China has a well-established propensity to export its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. It has been reported in the press, for example, that China provided a fully tested nuclear weapon design and highly enriched uranium to Pakistan. China has also provided ballistic missile technology to Pakistan and other countries. In 1988, China provided a turn-key medium range missile system to Saudi Arabia that is, an entire weapons system ready to use right out of the box.
China also has a record of providing missile, nuclear, chemical, and biological technology to Iran.
Furthermore, the Rumsfeld Commission reported that a number of countries hostile to the United States including Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea are capable of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, and that previous U.S. intelligence assessments had greatly underestimated the danger that such developments pose to the United States. While it may not be surprising that the Chinese would engage in these activities, it is surprising to learn of our own government s reaction to these developments. The Administration always seems to seize upon the most favorable interpretation of the facts toward the Chinese and conduct only timid, slow-moving investigations. Simultaneously, they keep Congress in the dark as much as possible, even while loosening U.S. export controls and giving Beijing greater access to U.S. technology. All along, the White House has given China the benefit of the doubt with regard to its proliferation activity.