The new manifesto is silent on Prithvi and merely says the Agni will be developed (it does not say deployed).American law mandates sanctions against countries that transfer missile technology, but not those which (like India or Israel) develop missiles at home.
Although China promised to abide by the Missile Technology Control Regime and pledged last Nov. 21 not to assist any country to develop nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, senators reminded Bush that "China has continued to transfer missile equipment and technology in contravention of both the MTCR and its November pledge".
The cables describe how the North Koreans, in turn, transferred "missiles" or "missile systems" to Iran.
A persistent irritant in Washington's relationship with Beijing, China's transfer of missiles and missile parts to Pakistan and other countries, was discussed, but no progress was made, officials said.
In June 1991, Mr. Bush's father barred the export of supercomputers, satellites and missile technology to China to punish it for transferring missile technology to Pakistan.
But last month the State Department slapped sanctions on two Chinese companies accused of circumventing the pledge to curb missile exports by transferring missile parts to Pakistan.
The Chinese manufacturer, China Metallurgical Equipment, a private corporation with close ties to the Beijing government, had transferred missile parts and technology, not whole missiles, the administration's announcement said.
This, in no small part, is due to a decision by the United States on May 22nd to slap sanctions on Norinco, a huge Chinese military-industrial conglomerate, for, it is claimed, transferring missile technology to Iran, in violation of non-proliferation agreements.Norinco has been punished by the Americans before, during the Clinton administration, but only on a very narrow range of products.
But with its president, Hu Jintao, under pressure to look statesmanlike as a guest of the G8 in St Petersburg, it agreed on July 15th to a compromise, brokered by Britain, that still strongly condemned the missile tests and banned the transfer of missile-related technology to North Korea.
In November 2000, China agreed not to transfer ballistic missile technology to its longtime ally Pakistan.
