Rogue Planet

Zimbabwe's Rogue Arms Deal: Part IV

Zimbabwe arms ship 'heading for Angola'

A Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe which was turned away from South Africa is heading to Angola in hopes of docking there, the transport minister of Mozambique said on Saturday.

The ship left South African waters on Friday after a court refused to allow the weapons to be transported across South Africa, SAPA news agency said.

Mozambique's Transport and Communications Minister Paulo Zucula told Reuters that Mozambique has been monitoring the movements of the ship since it lifted anchor and left South Africa.

"We know that it registered its next destination as Luanda because here we wouldn't allow it into Mozambican waters without prior arrangements", he said.

The An Yue Jiang, a Chinese ship, had been at anchor off Durban on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast since Monday, turning into a flashpoint for trade unions and others critical of President Thabo Mbeki's quiet diplomacy toward Zimbabwe.

The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) refused to unload the weapons because of concerns Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government might use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.

Zimbabwe's Rogue Arms Deal: Part III

Zimbabwe Arms Shipped by China Spark an Uproar

By CELIA W. DUGGER
JOHANNESBURG — A Chinese ship loaded with armaments for Zimbabwe steamed into the port of Durban this week and set off a political firefight, putting newfound pressure on South Africa — and now China — to reduce support for Zimbabwe’s government as it cracks down on its rivals after a disputed election.

Dock workers at the port, backed by South Africa’s powerful unions, refused to unload the ammunition and weapons on Friday, vowing protests and threatening violence if the government tried to do it without them.

Meanwhile, the Anglican archbishop of the province appealed to South Africa’s High Court to bar transporting the arms across South Africa, arguing that they were likely to be used to repress Zimbabweans. The court agreed, and by late Friday the ship had pulled up anchor and set sail.

The arms shipment was ordered from China before the elections, but its arrival amid Zimbabwe’s political crisis illuminated deep fissures within South Africa over how to respond, and brought new scrutiny on China at a time when its human rights record is already under fire for suppressing protesters in Tibet and supplying arms to the government of Sudan.

Three weeks after Zimbabwe’s presidential election, officials there have yet to announce the outcome. Independent monitors believe the governing party trailed behind its main rival, the Movement for Democratic Change, but the government has responded by systematically beating, arresting and harassing its opponents, human rights groups say.

Zimbabwe's Rogue Arms Deal: Part II

Zim weapons ship waits for OK
17/04/2008 08:24 - (SA)

Erika Gibson and Gloria Edwards, Beeld

Durban - South Africa approved a transit permit this week for the shipment of tons of weapons and ammunition destined for Zimbabwe.

A Chinese ship with almost three million rounds of ammunitions for small arms and AK-47s, about 3 500 mortars and mortar launchers, as well as 1 500 rockets for rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) arrived in Durban Harbour on Monday shortly before the permit was issued.

According to a copy that Beeld has of the ship's cargo documentation, it was finalised on April 1, three days after Zimbabwe's election.

It was not known when the order for the weapons had been placed.

An inspection by the South African customs authority deemed this consignment "risky" and further shipment was halted for the moment.

According to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), who are responsible for customs control, the six containers in which the weapons had been packed would be inspected by SARS and police officials on Thursday to determine whether they were, indeed, suspect.

Zimbabwe's Rogue Arms Deal: Part I

China Ships Arms of War to Country

SW Radio Africa (London)

NEWS
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008

By Tichaona Sibanda

China has secretly shipped tens of thousands of small arms to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, raising fears the consignment has been brought in to crush any attempts to unseat Robert Mugabe from power.

The consignment has cost the regime millions of United States dollars and came through Durban harbour in a Chinese registered vessel, An Yue Juang.

It includes 3 million rounds of ammunition for AK47 rifles, the standard assault weapon for the country's defence forces. There were also 1,500 rocket propelled grenades, a support weapon for the infantry, plus 3,500 mortar bombs.

Martin Welz, editor of Noseweek a Durban based investigative magazine, told Newsreel on Wednesday they were in possession of the shipping documentation of six containers addressed to the Ministry of Defence in Harare. The arms were bought from a Chinese arms company called Poly Technologies, based in Beijing.

'The ship did in fact dock in Durban between the 10th and 13th April and the six containers weigh between 8 to 15 tonnes, Welz said.

He added; 'There is also the declared policy of the commander of the defence forces Chiwenga, that he will not recognise a democratically elected president unless it happens to be Mugabe. Zimbabwe is not at war with anyone, so the purchase of such an arms consignment should be very worrying.'

[allafrica.com]

What's Behind the Iraq-China Weapons Deal

Baghdad's decision to buy arms from China has less to do with the Iraqi government's quest for weapons and more to do with its concerns about the direction of U.S. policy.

ALEX ROSSMILLER | October 9, 2007

Governments often send messages with their actions, particularly messages that can't really be delivered directly. A recent, mostly overlooked example of this was Iraq's announcement of a contract with China to buy $100 million worth of light weaponry.

Despite sounding significant, the amount is a relative pittance. Iraq also recently signed deals to buy $1.6 billion in U.S. arms, with another $1.8 billion in possible future purchases, so $100 million in arms is less than 3 percent of weapons deals planned by Baghdad in recent months. The symbolism, however, is tremendous, and for Baghdad to publicly announce the deal accentuates the point. Iraq may be under occupation, but this move is a reminder that there are other patrons available, benefactors who would be very happy to curry favor (and perhaps eventual oil contracts) by supplying military might. The central government in Baghdad, weak and under siege as it may be, still has plenty of oil money and, despite an apparently permanent occupation and no end of political manipulation by the United States, has the ability to act independently.

This small assertion of independence -- involving the only nation with an economy and military to rival the United States, no less -- reflects increasing Iraqi dissatisfaction with U.S. policy. The Shia-dominated Maliki government is profoundly concerned about the recent U.S. strategy of arming Sunnis, ostensibly against al-Qaeda, in Iraq's western, Sunni-controlled Anbar province. Shia leaders have warned against this program, complaining that arming and training "former" insurgents serves to arm a dissatisfied and rebellious anti-government force.

China to Arm Iraq

After the US had spent so much effort incorporating a 'no China' clause for USML items into its Federal Acquisition Regulations, the Iraqi government decides, apparently in the interest of cost savings and debt reduction, to buy from China direct, likely using US donated funds.  If you listen hard enough, you can hear the faint cries of 'shenanigans!' coming from the greater DC area.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2863255&C=mideast

Posted 06/27/07 19:38
Talabani: China to Arm Iraqi Police
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq

Iraqi President Jalal Talbani said on June 27 that Beijing has agreed
to sell weapons to the country's fledgling police force.
"We have signed an agreement to buy Chinese weapons for our police at
a cheaper price," Talabani told reporters on his return from a
week-long visit to China, without providing further details.
Iraq's police are frequent targets of a Sunni-led insurgency
engulfing the country since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Talabani also said Beijing had agreed to cancel some of the $8
billion worth of debt accrued by Saddam Hussein's regime, but it was
not immediately clear how much the deal involves.
Beijing has also agreed to train around 600 Iraqi science
professionals, said Talabani, who stopped off in Tehran before
returning to Iraq.
China wants to resurrect oil supply agreements signed with the
previous regime and develop an oil field in southeast Iraq.
Talabani was the first Iraqi head of state to visit China since the
two countries established diplomatic ties in 1958.