Military affairs continued to play a crucial role in Chinese-Russian relations Friday as the premiers of the two countries agreed to develop bilateral relations in all areas, including scientific, technological and military fields.
"I believe that these meetings will help push forward our relations in all fields, including the economic, science and technological and military fields," Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji told his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kasyanov.
During talks, the two premiers agreed to regularize meetings of a recently established commission on cooperation in space.
The commission's tasks are believed to include both cooperation in China's planned manned space program, as well as potential sales of Russian navigation satellites and satellite ground stations, Russian sources said.
Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian Aerospace Agency, was part of Kasyanov's delegation and is expected to hold meeting with officials from China's Commission on Science and Technology, Russian officials said.
China is known to be interested in Russia's GLONASS global satellite positioning system and is believed to be seeking to buy either satellites that make up the system or ground stations that can increase the system's capabilities, western military sources in Beijing said.
China currently leases time from the US-made Global Positioning System and Russia's GLONASS satellite system for military and civilian purposes, but is seeking to enhance either its own system or the Russian system in an effort to improve the accuracy of its growing missile force, they said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Ilya Klebanov, who has been in Beijing since Tuesday, met earlier this week with General Zhang Wannian, vice chairman of China's powerful Central Military Commission, and discussed the possible sale of an airborne Russian advanced radar system.
The talks for the A-50E Beriev come after Israel in July cancelled a 250 million-dollar deal for a Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) under enormous pressure from Washington.
Russian defense sources in Moscow said Kasyanov will sign a deal on delivery to China of an undisclosed number of the Russian airborne early-warning radar system with each unit estimated to cost 200 million dollars.
It will take some three years for Russia to modify the radars to China's specifications, reports said.
China's interest in Russia's airborne radar and satellites is not only a part of Beijing's efforts to raise the technological capability of the People's Liberation Army, but would also bring a larger bite to China's threat of retaking the rebel province of Taiwan through military force.
The airborne radar system if adequately integrated with the PLA's fighter wings and its land and sea-based missile launchers, could work to control air space over the Taiwan Strait, the military sources said.
Enhanced satellite navigation capabilities would make China's growing missile force more accurate and allow for pinpoint strikes on Taiwan that could avoid civilian and collateral damage, they said -- BEIJING (AFP)
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