By Emelie Rutherford
President Barack Obama does not want to lift the ban on selling C-130 aircraft to China and only is allowing the Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built cargo aircraft to help with oil-spill response in the country, a White House spokesman said yesterday.
Obama sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) a letter last Friday saying “it is in the national interest of the United States to terminate the suspensions under section 902(a)(3) of the (Foreign Relations) Act (for fiscal years 1990 and 1991) with respect to the issuance of temporary munitions export licenses for exports to the People’s Republic of China insofar as such restrictions pertain to the C-130 cargo aircraft to be used in oil spill response operations at sea.”
The letter, released by the White House Friday night, triggered international news reports that the United States was beginning to export military equipment to China for the first time since 1989. The Foreign Relations Act for FY ’90 and FY ’91 spells out sanctions against China following the 1989 deaths of pro-Democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
White House National Security Council spokesman Michael Hammer told Defense Daily yesterday the temporary waiver announced last Friday does not relate to actual C-130 sales.
“The president’s waiver allows for the temporary export to China of C-130 aircraft only for the purposes of refueling and/or resupplying with oil spill chemical dispersants in China as necessary for oil spill response operations in the Southeast Asia region,” he said in an e-mail. “No C-130 has gone to China or is being sold to China; this is just a waiver for a contingency plan.”
“Oil spill response companies maintain response capabilities throughout the world,” Hammer added. “C-130s are used because of their maneuverability and transport capacity.”
The temporary export is subject to State Department licensing requirements. Obama had to notify Congress about the waiver, but did not need lawmakers’ approval.
“The waiver meets the statutory standard of being in the national interest as it would promote international cooperation on environmental disaster mitigation efforts,” the White House National Security Council spokesman maintained.
Chinese officials may have misinterpreted Obama’s letter regarding the waiver.
Dow Jones Newswires reported China foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said yesterday that China noted the U.S decision to, as the article states, “allow the export of C-130 military transport planes to China.” The spokesman “hopes the U.S. will take further steps to relax restrictions on exports to China,” the news service reported from Beijing.