Saudi Arabia Buying New Missile Technology from China

By Staff, Agencies

The Saudi regime escalated its ballistic missile program by buying technology from China, US media reported.

In a story published on Wednesday, broadcaster CNN said the US government had obtained intelligence on the technology transfers, but the administration of US President Donald Trump did not initially share its knowledge with key members of Congress.

The news amid amid strained relations between the Congress and the White House over relations with Saudi Arabia.

A group of US senators is trying to block weapons sales to the kingdom, along with the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, following a bipartisan outcry over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and subsequent scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's role in the war in Yemen.

Trump bypassed Congress last month to approve $8bn worth of arms sales by declaring an emergency over growing tensions with Iran.

The 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime, an informal understanding among 35 countries, bans Saudi Arabia from buying ballistic missiles from the US and others. China, however, is not a signatory.

The kingdom has been buying Chinese missiles for decades, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group that works with governments on threat reduction. However, it is not known whether Saudi Arabia has the ability to build its own missiles or deploy those it has acquired over the years.

Satellite imagery, originally published by the Washington Post in January, appeared to show a ballistic missile factory in Al Dawadmi, west of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Analysts at the time said what was shown in the images appeared to match Chinese technology.

A new image of the same plant obtained by CNN showed a "similar level of activity" at the site in May.

According to "two sources familiar with the matter", while the Senate Intelligence Committee has now been given access to the Saudi intelligence, it has not received a specific briefing on the Saudi technology purchase from China, the report said.