Turkey’s US$4 billion order for a Chinese missile defence system is a breakthrough for China in its bid to become a supplier of advanced weapons, even though opposition from Washington and Nato threatens to derail the deal.
The winning bid from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CPMIEC) to deliver its FD-2000 air defence missile system in a joint production agreement with Turkey is the first time a Chinese supplier has won a major order for state-of-the-art equipment from a Nato member. US, Russian and Western European manufacturers were also in the fray.
It would certainly be a landmark deal
The decision last week to award the contract to CPMIEC, a company that is under US sanctions for dealings with Iran, North Korea and Syria, surprised global arms trade experts and senior Nato officials.
“It is quite significant I would say, if it materialises,” said Oliver Brauner, a researcher on China’s arms exports at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “It would certainly be a landmark deal.”
Turkey signalled on Monday that it could back away from its decision after Washington said it had “serious concerns” about the deal with a sanctioned company for a system that would not be compatible with Nato’s other weapons and networks.
And, in a reminder that Ankara faces stiff opposition from its alliance partners in Europe, a Nato official in Brussels said it was important that equipment ordered by member countries is compatible.