The U.S. government has agreed to let Israel go forward with a deal that offers China broad access to remote-sensing satellite capabilities, Defense News reports:
Sources here and in Washington confirmed the U.S. greenlight for Beijing’s participation in a unique operational program run by Imagesat International (ISI), a Dutch Antilles-incorporated firm based here that owns and manages Eros-series spacecraft. Under the firm’s Satellite Operating Partner (SOP) program, customers like India enjoy complete autonomy and discretion in the way they choose to operate the satellite.
The program allows partner customers to select Eros B targets and stream imagery directly to their own ground stations, effectively controlling a 2,500-kilometer radius of coverage around the ground station. In China’s case, however, Washington is insisting on the right to impose so-called shutter control in times of tension or national emergency. Moreover, the prospective China program would require 24-hour notice of Beijing’s satellite targeting plans, an onerous condition that could prove to be a deal breaker, sources here said.
Although Israel’s MoD is the official regulatory authority for ISI exports — and Eros B is a commercial system not subject to the U.S. State Department’s Munitions List control — officials here felt compelled to submit the possible China deal to U.S. review. A bilateral agreement signed in 2005 by former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz obliged prior consultation, and close consultation on Israeli exports to countries that could threaten U.S. national security.
In the past, the U.S. has scuttled prospective Israeli military sales to China, including a big-ticket contract for an AWACS aircraft. Under pressure from the U.S. government — and facing the potential loss of technology cooperation and arms sales with its staunchest ally — Israel now reportedly allows the U.S. to review sales to China (though neither the U.S. nor Israel acknowledges the tacit deal).
