Let's avoid another trans-Atlantic feud

Let's avoid another trans-Atlantic feud
Seth G. Jones and F. Stephen Larrabee International Herald Tribune

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2006


The European Union's recent launch of the first of 30 satellites in its
multibillion-dollar Galileo global navigation system was hailed across
the Continent as a giant step in breaking the U.S monopoly of
space-based networks. But China's participation in the project raises
important security issues that need to be addressed to prevent a new
feud between America and Europe.

Galileo is Europe's response to the U.S. military's Global Positioning
System, or GPS. The American armed forces use the GPS to guide
warplanes and precision weapons. A less accurate nonmilitary version is
used in navigational systems in cars, trucks, boats and airplanes.

Europeans argue that Galileo will be more accurate than the civilian
version of GPS. By more precisely determining the location of people
using the device, Galileo opens the way for new uses - such as helping
police, fire departments and ambulances better locate people in
emergencies.

But Galileo will also have important military applications - and that's
why America should be concerned. The system will improve the ability of
armed forces to coordinate the movement of units in battle, increasing
their effectiveness. It will also improve the precision of weapons
guidance systems so that bombs and missiles hit their targets more
accurately.

Galileo could play an important role in speeding up China's military
modernization program. China is currently developing a range of
land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, long-range surface-to-air
missiles, and anti-radiation missiles. If China and the United States
wind up in a military confrontation over Taiwan in the next decade,
Galileo technology could also improve Chinese precision-strike
capabilities against U.S. and Taiwan forces.

Under a cooperation agreement, China has pledged to participate in
research and development on space technologies, ground equipment, and
application systems for Galileo. So far, the Chinese government has
invested about $240 million in the project through China Galileo
Industries Ltd., a state-run company.

China has a history of using foreign technology and assistance to
improve its military. This has increased China's ability to copy weapon
systems, integrate advanced technologies into China's production lines,
and raise the technical expertise of Chinese workers involved in
defense production.

Chinese participation in Galileo is part of a gradual trend in economic
and defense cooperation with Europe that has seen European governments
and businesses sell China technology that could be used for military
purposes in recent years. This includes British micro- and
nano-satellite technology that can be used in anti-satellite weapon
systems, British airborne early warning radar that can be used in
military aircraft, German engines that can be used in conventional
submarines, and French and Italian technology that can be used in
attack helicopters.

There are several steps the United States and Europe can take to
ameliorate U.S. security concerns and avert a new trans-Atlantic clash
over Galileo:

Discuss China's current and future participation in Galileo frankly,
and answer several questions: What is China's role in Galileo? What
kind of access will it have to sensitive technology? What firewalls are
in place to make it more difficult for China to acquire sensitive
technologies through Galileo?

Continue revising the European code of conduct on arms exports, and
consider transforming it into an official common position enforced with
export-control legislation. The current code is not legally binding,
enabling member states like France to export a growing amount of
military and dual-use technology to China.

Reach an agreement on European systems and technologies banned from
export to China. European governments and defense companies are not
likely to sell weapons or platforms directly to China. But the United
States is concerned about the export of subsystems and related
equipment and technologies for missiles, stealth systems, satellites,
command and control capabilities, naval platforms and military
aircraft.

Maintain the European Union's arms embargo against China. As a recent
European Parliament report argued, significant European arms exports
will increase the risk of regional instability in East Asia.

America's concerns about Chinese participation in the Galileo program
are understandable. But so is the European Union's unwillingness to
give the U.S. veto power over Chinese participation. Unless America and
Europe can agree on a position they find mutually acceptable, a dispute
is almost inevitable.

(Seth G. Jones is a political scientist at the Rand Corporation, a
nonprofit research organization, and author of ''The Rise of Europe.''
F. Stephen Larrabee holds the corporate chair in European security at
Rand.)
The European Union's recent launch of the first of 30 satellites in
its multibillion-dollar Galileo global navigation system was hailed
across the Continent as a giant step in breaking the U.S monopoly of
space-based networks. But China's participation in the project raises
important security issues that need to be addressed to prevent a new
feud between America and Europe.

Galileo is Europe's response to the U.S. military's Global Positioning
System, or GPS. The American armed forces use the GPS to guide
warplanes and precision weapons. A less accurate nonmilitary version is
used in navigational systems in cars, trucks, boats and airplanes.

Europeans argue that Galileo will be more accurate than the civilian
version of GPS. By more precisely determining the location of people
using the device, Galileo opens the way for new uses - such as helping
police, fire departments and ambulances better locate people in
emergencies.

But Galileo will also have important military applications - and that's
why America should be concerned. The system will improve the ability of
armed forces to coordinate the movement of units in battle, increasing
their effectiveness. It will also improve the precision of weapons
guidance systems so that bombs and missiles hit their targets more
accurately.

Galileo could play an important role in speeding up China's military
modernization program. China is currently developing a range of
land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, long-range surface-to-air
missiles, and anti-radiation missiles. If China and the United States
wind up in a military confrontation over Taiwan in the next decade,
Galileo technology could also improve Chinese precision-strike
capabilities against U.S. and Taiwan forces.

Under a cooperation agreement, China has pledged to participate in
research and development on space technologies, ground equipment, and
application systems for Galileo. So far, the Chinese government has
invested about $240 million in the project through China Galileo
Industries Ltd., a state-run company.

China has a history of using foreign technology and assistance to
improve its military. This has increased China's ability to copy weapon
systems, integrate advanced technologies into China's production lines,
and raise the technical expertise of Chinese workers involved in
defense production.

Chinese participation in Galileo is part of a gradual trend in economic
and defense cooperation with Europe that has seen European governments
and businesses sell China technology that could be used for military
purposes in recent years. This includes British micro- and
nano-satellite technology that can be used in anti-satellite weapon
systems, British airborne early warning radar that can be used in
military aircraft, German engines that can be used in conventional
submarines, and French and Italian technology that can be used in
attack helicopters.

There are several steps the United States and Europe can take to
ameliorate U.S. security concerns and avert a new trans-Atlantic clash
over Galileo:

Discuss China's current and future participation in Galileo frankly,
and answer several questions: What is China's role in Galileo? What
kind of access will it have to sensitive technology? What firewalls are
in place to make it more difficult for China to acquire sensitive
technologies through Galileo?

Continue revising the European code of conduct on arms exports, and
consider transforming it into an official common position enforced with
export-control legislation. The current code is not legally binding,
enabling member states like France to export a growing amount of
military and dual-use technology to China.

Reach an agreement on European systems and technologies banned from
export to China. European governments and defense companies are not
likely to sell weapons or platforms directly to China. But the United
States is concerned about the export of subsystems and related
equipment and technologies for missiles, stealth systems, satellites,
command and control capabilities, naval platforms and military
aircraft.

Maintain the European Union's arms embargo against China. As a recent
European Parliament report argued, significant European arms exports
will increase the risk of regional instability in East Asia.

America's concerns about Chinese participation in the Galileo program
are understandable. But so is the European Union's unwillingness to
give the U.S. veto power over Chinese participation. Unless America and
Europe can agree on a position they find mutually acceptable, a dispute
is almost inevitable.

(Seth G. Jones is a political scientist at the Rand Corporation, a
nonprofit research organization, and author of ''The Rise of Europe.''
F. Stephen Larrabee holds the corporate chair in European security at
Rand.)
The European Union's recent launch of the first of 30 satellites in
its multibillion-dollar Galileo global navigation system was hailed
across the Continent as a giant step in breaking the U.S monopoly of
space-based networks. But China's participation in the project raises
important security issues that need to be addressed to prevent a new
feud between America and Europe.

Galileo is Europe's response to the U.S. military's Global Positioning
System, or GPS. The American armed forces use the GPS to guide
warplanes and precision weapons. A less accurate nonmilitary version is
used in navigational systems in cars, trucks, boats and airplanes.

Europeans argue that Galileo will be more accurate than the civilian
version of GPS. By more precisely determining the location of people
using the device, Galileo opens the way for new uses - such as helping
police, fire departments and ambulances better locate people in
emergencies.

But Galileo will also have important military applications - and that's
why America should be concerned. The system will improve the ability of
armed forces to coordinate the movement of units in battle, increasing
their effectiveness. It will also improve the precision of weapons
guidance systems so that bombs and missiles hit their targets more
accurately.

Galileo could play an important role in speeding up China's military
modernization program. China is currently developing a range of
land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, long-range surface-to-air
missiles, and anti-radiation missiles. If China and the United States
wind up in a military confrontation over Taiwan in the next decade,
Galileo technology could also improve Chinese precision-strike
capabilities against U.S. and Taiwan forces.

Under a cooperation agreement, China has pledged to participate in
research and development on space technologies, ground equipment, and
application systems for Galileo. So far, the Chinese government has
invested about $240 million in the project through China Galileo
Industries Ltd., a state-run company.

China has a history of using foreign technology and assistance to
improve its military. This has increased China's ability to copy weapon
systems, integrate advanced technologies into China's production lines,
and raise the technical expertise of Chinese workers involved in
defense production.

Chinese participation in Galileo is part of a gradual trend in economic
and defense cooperation with Europe that has seen European governments
and businesses sell China technology that could be used for military
purposes in recent years. This includes British micro- and
nano-satellite technology that can be used in anti-satellite weapon
systems, British airborne early warning radar that can be used in
military aircraft, German engines that can be used in conventional
submarines, and French and Italian technology that can be used in
attack helicopters.

There are several steps the United States and Europe can take to
ameliorate U.S. security concerns and avert a new trans-Atlantic clash
over Galileo:

Discuss China's current and future participation in Galileo frankly,
and answer several questions: What is China's role in Galileo? What
kind of access will it have to sensitive technology? What firewalls are
in place to make it more difficult for China to acquire sensitive
technologies through Galileo?

Continue revising the European code of conduct on arms exports, and
consider transforming it into an official common position enforced with
export-control legislation. The current code is not legally binding,
enabling member states like France to export a growing amount of
military and dual-use technology to China.

Reach an agreement on European systems and technologies banned from
export to China. European governments and defense companies are not
likely to sell weapons or platforms directly to China. But the United
States is concerned about the export of subsystems and related
equipment and technologies for missiles, stealth systems, satellites,
command and control capabilities, naval platforms and military
aircraft.

Maintain the European Union's arms embargo against China. As a recent
European Parliament report argued, significant European arms exports
will increase the risk of regional instability in East Asia.

America's concerns about Chinese participation in the Galileo program
are understandable. But so is the European Union's unwillingness to
give the U.S. veto power over Chinese participation. Unless America and
Europe can agree on a position they find mutually acceptable, a dispute
is almost inevitable.

(Seth G. Jones is a political scientist at the Rand Corporation, a
nonprofit research organization, and author of ''The Rise of Europe.''
F. Stephen Larrabee holds the corporate chair in European security at
Rand.)
The European Union's recent launch of the first of 30 satellites in
its multibillion-dollar Galileo global navigation system was hailed
across the Continent as a giant step in breaking the U.S monopoly of
space-based networks. But China's participation in the project raises
important security issues that need to be addressed to prevent a new
feud between America and Europe.

Galileo is Europe's response to the U.S. military's Global Positioning
System, or GPS. The American armed forces use the GPS to guide
warplanes and precision weapons. A less accurate nonmilitary version is
used in navigational systems in cars, trucks, boats and airplanes.

Europeans argue that Galileo will be more accurate than the civilian
version of GPS. By more precisely determining the location of people
using the device, Galileo opens the way for new uses - such as helping
police, fire departments and ambulances better locate people in
emergencies.

But Galileo will also have important military applications - and that's
why America should be concerned. The system will improve the ability of
armed forces to coordinate the movement of units in battle, increasing
their effectiveness. It will also improve the precision of weapons
guidance systems so that bombs and missiles hit their targets more
accurately.

Galileo could play an important role in speeding up China's military
modernization program. China is currently developing a range of
land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, long-range surface-to-air
missiles, and anti-radiation missiles. If China and the United States
wind up in a military confrontation over Taiwan in the next decade,
Galileo technology could also improve Chinese precision-strike
capabilities against U.S. and Taiwan forces.

Under a cooperation agreement, China has pledged to participate in
research and development on space technologies, ground equipment, and
application systems for Galileo. So far, the Chinese government has
invested about $240 million in the project through China Galileo
Industries Ltd., a state-run company.

China has a history of using foreign technology and assistance to
improve its military. This has increased China's ability to copy weapon
systems, integrate advanced technologies into China's production

.

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