The State Department yesterday
confirmed that China has been delivering military equipment to Cuba,
but signaled that the weapons were not 'lethal' enough to trigger
sanctions against Beijing.
"We
are very much concerned with this PLA (People's Liberation Army) cooperation
and movement of military equipment into Cuba," said James Kelly,
assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, during a House
subcommittee hearing.
The transfer was first
reported yesterday by The Washington Times, which disclosed that the
material included "military-grade" dual-use explosives and
detonation cord. But the State Department signaled such weapons would
not prompt retaliation against China.
"There's
a U.S. law that prohibits providing various types of assistance to
foreign governments that have provided, quote, 'lethal military equipment'
to a country whose government is a state sponsor of terrorism,"
said State Department spokesman Phil Reeker, who repeatedly made that
distinction to reporters.
He noted that Cuba is
also listed as a sponsor of terrorism.
"What I'm telling
you, in reference to that law, is we have not made a determination
that China has transferred lethal military equipment to Cuba,"
he added.
Republican members of
Congress denounced such distinctions as a pretense to preserve China's
trade with the U.S.
"We're splitting
hairs about what kind of weapons in order not to trigger certain economic
sanctions," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. "But
we do this at our own peril.
"I realize that all
of this is tied to the economy and trying to get cheap goods for the
American consumer, but we're going to pay a heavy price for it down
the road," warned the Cuban-born Republican. "It's going
to hurt our national security."
Sen. Jesse Helms, North
Carolina Republican, called for immediate sanctions against the Chinese
for spreading weaponry "to the back yard of the United States."
"The
communist Chinese have now tipped their hands for all to see,"
said the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"They have expanded their spreading of weapons of all types,
nuclear and otherwise, to Cuba, 90 miles off our shores."
Mr. Helms blamed the deal
on "neglect by the Clinton administration," which took a
much softer stance toward China and Cuba than Mr. Bush. He also warned
against turning a blind eye to national security dangers for the sake
of U.S.-Sino trade.
"This
is a wake-up call to all who have hoped to make deals with Red China
and make profits doing so," Mr. Helms said. "It's time to
wake up and smell the coffee -- by sanctioning China under applicable
laws."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,
California Republican, asked Mr. Kelly during yesterday's hearing
if the Bush administration would "grovel" in the face of
the Chinese transfer of arms and explosives. The senior State Department
official said no.
But the congressman said
later in an interview that China was playing a dangerous game by shipping
military equipment to Cuba. He drew parallels between the development
and the attempt by the Soviet Union to put nuclear missiles in Cuba
40 years ago.
"This is but another
outrage on the part of communist China," Mr. Rohrabacher said.
"It is an act of belligerence toward the United States by the
communist government in Beijing."
He added that the arms
transfer -- coming on the heels of China detaining 24 U.S. service
members and their downed surveillance plane -- "should be a clear
message to people who have been irrationally optimistic about the
potential for our relations with Beijing."
"We
need to bring to the Communist Chinese government in Beijing an official
notification that this is unacceptable and that there will be repercussions
if they continue delivering arms to Cuba," Mr. Rohrabacher said.
"And if they continue to do so, we will have to act and there
will be some very serious alterations in our trade arrangement with
China."
President Bush made no
mention of the arms transfer as he arrived in Europe yesterday for
a five-day visit. But he reiterated his resolve to keep Cuba economically
isolated.
"We plan to keep
the embargo on Cuba, and will do so until Fidel Castro frees prisoners,
has free elections, embraces freedom," Mr. Bush said during a
press conference in Madrid. "I believe strongly that's the right
policy for the United States."
A White House spokesman
traveling with the president later declined to comment on the specifics
of the arms transfer.
China
has been steadily intensifying its military relationship with Cuba
since last year, but yesterday's report by The Times was the first
public disclosure that China had moved at least three shipments of
arms to Cuba.
"I've
been monitoring this situation for some time and have even raised
the Cuba-China connection in classified briefings with U.S. intelligence
agencies," said Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen. "But it wouldn't have
even dawned on us that it would be at the weapons stage."