China’s seeks arms deliveries from Russia

CHINA is seeking renewed deliveries of advanced weapons from Russia with a £2.3 billion deal for fighters and submarines despite resentment in Moscow over Chinese copying of its military technology.

China’s state media reported this week that Moscow had agreed to supply 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and four Amur-class submarines to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), inthe first major arms deal between the two nations in ten years

Russia has not yet confirmed the deal.

“Currently the two sides are working on the relevant contracts and the results are likely to be produced by the end of the year,” said Vassily Kashin, an expert at Moscow’s Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

China relied heavily on arms imports from Russia in the early years of its military build-up.

Russian analysts estimate China took delivery of about £17bn in weapons and technology between 1992 and 2006. But, this soured in the mid-1990s when Russia accused Chinese contractors of reverse engineering Russia’s fighter, the Su-27.