AFTER having read the analysis regarding arms dealing (South China Morning Post, July 23), I feel there are some points that must be taken into account.
In arms trading, questions should not revolve around the dealer as much as they should the reputation and intentions of the buyer. Therefore, it is the acceptability of clients which brings into question the dealers themselves - thus, the arguments regarding China's alleged sale of M-11 missiles to the Pakistani Government, a reactionary, unstable and malicious regime.
Of course, the US has proven in the past to be extremely haphazard in its own sales of weapon technology, but China has supplied and is currently supplying some of the most notorious governments and groups in the world today. And, if proven, the alleged sales of missile technology to Pakistan would just be one more example of the Chinese leadership breaking a promise.
The US is currently leading the pack in the amount of yearly arms sales, but who are the buyers involved? Do they currently include Iran, North Korea, Syria, Algeria and the Khmer Rouge, just to name a few of China's past and present buyers? And the worst part of this entire affair is that China is making available nuclear technology, with complete disregard for the danger involved in supplying such radically minded organisations and governments.
This letter is by no means meant to uphold a US position, as I haven't an idea who the US's buyers are, but I wish to open eyes to the creeping problems that could explode in the future, thanks to China's flippant weapons sales.
GARETH GWYNNE Western
