THE CHINESE authorities appear to be reconsidering the deal to sell 75 howitzers to Cyprus, after Turkish intervention on the matter, Politis newspaper reported yesterday.
The paper said Chinese arms manufacturer NORINCO had not been in contact with the Defence Ministry in the last two months since the contract for the purchase of the PLZ45 155mm Self-Propelled Gun Howitzers was signed.
According to the daily, Defence Ministry officials, concerned at the lack of communication from the company, attempted to contact NORINCO in order to establish the reasons for the delay. The Chinese company replied they were having problems in gaining a permit from the Chinese government to export the howitzers to Cyprus.
However, it seems that the real reason behind the delay may be intervention from the Turkish government. Ankara is understood to have threatened that the relationship between themselves and China would be at risk if the weapons found their way to Cyprus. Turkey and China currently have an excellent trade relationship.
The Defence Ministry yesterday refused to comment on the issue but in a meeting on Thursday, members of the House Defence Committee demanded more information on the subject. In the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, the Permanent Secretary of the Defence Ministry, Petros Kareklas, is reported to have admitted that the problem did exist, with NORINCO claiming that they were encountering difficulties in obtaining an export permit.
Kareklas apparently said there was no official decision yet from the company to cancel the contract. He also stated that the reason for the problems that the deal had run into were due to publicity about the agreement in the Cypriot press. Politis ridiculed these claims yesterday, saying there were no problems with the agreement after the purchase was first reported when a delegation from the Chinese company came to Cyprus last November to negotiate the deal.
Yiannakis Omirou, Chairman of the House Defence Committee, said yesterday that people should tread wearily when mentioning such issues.
“These sorts of matters that have to do with Cyprus’ defence, especially affairs related to diplomatic relations with countries like China, a permanent member of the Security Council, should be handled extremely carefully,” he said.
The Defence Ministry remains hopeful that the deal will go ahead as it views the addition of the 75 PLZ45 Gun Howitzers as essential. It has already secured the initial deposit of £9.7 million from parliament, covering 20 per cent of the total cost of the artillery.
