The weapons in UAE plane were for Abu Dhabidefense exhibition: China

Speculations have been running wild since Sunday when a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force plane was detained in Kolkata, India, for carrying undeclared weapons bound for China.
An official from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense told the Global Times Thursday that there is nothing wrong with China transporting its weapons via a UAE military aircraft for a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE.
The Times of India, the largest newspaper in the country, reported Monday that customs officials found three boxes containing undeclared arms, ammunition and explosives in a China-bound UAE Air Force's C-130 Hercules aircraft when it made a stopover at the Kolkata airport for refueling.
The nine crew members were detained and questioned, and the aircraft was held at the airport. After nearly 72 hours, the plane was released Wednesday evening and left for China at 9:30 am Thursday, the newspaper reported.
The discovery has fueled suspicions of wrongdoing by China, as the UAE buys most of its weapons from the US and EU, which impose strict controls on arms transfers to China, The Times newspaper in London reported Thursday.
Dai Xu, a noted scholar on Chinese defense, dismissed the speculation from the Western media, saying "The US has stipulated stiff rules regarding military-technology transfers."
He noted that "China has advanced missile technology by itself, and there is no need to covet missiles from France. Even if we are interested in their missiles, NATO forbids the sale to us."
11/09/09 Global Times/People's Daily Online, China

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Categories: Airports Sep 2009, Foreign Sep 2009, Safety Sep 2009