Because of their tremendous deterrent power and sensitive nature, it is very difficult for ballistic missiles to be traded in the international market, because after all, such a weapon of mass destruction that can affect or even change the strategic balance in the region will cause a fierce reaction from other countries in the region if it is transferred internationally.
【Ballistic Missile】
But the mainland exported Dongfeng-3 ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia for a contract value of $3.5 billion.
China-Saudi Arabia missile deal
China's export of DF-3 missiles to Saudi Arabia can be said to have fundamentally changed Saudi Arabia's national defense situation and even the geopolitical situation of the entire Middle East.
【Saudi Dongfeng 3】
After the deal was exposed by the Washington Post in 1988, many voices in the United States demanded that the United States impose severe sanctions on Saudi Arabia and China to prevent Saudi Arabia from possessing such powerful strategic weapons.
But the U.S. government's response has been very slow, and what is even more surprising is that the Chinese Foreign Ministry officially confirmed the authenticity of the news a month later, which seems to the outside world to be a bit of a slap in the face.
But even so, the United States has not taken measures to hinder or retaliate against the missile deal between China and Saudi Arabia, which is very intriguing. In fact, the fact that this earth-shattering missile deal can be completed has a lot to do with the acquiescence of the United States.
【Dongfeng 3】
To understand this, we must first understand why Saudi Arabia wants to buy ballistic missiles, in the 80s of the last century, Saudi King Fahd has felt an urgent military threat, and Saudi Arabia has made a lot of money from oil resources for 30 years, which has aroused the covetousness of some neighboring countries.
Saudi Arabia was the richest country in the Middle East at the time, but it did not have enough force to defend its wealth, and in the early years Saudi Arabia obtained American asylum by buying American weapons, but by the 80s of the last century, this model began to have a huge problem.
The allies of the United States are also divided into three, six, nine and so on, and Saudi Arabia is not reliable to obtain alliances by paying protection money to the United States, especially when there is an ambitious country like Israel in the Middle East.
[Israel is ambitious]
Israel is an absolute T0 presence in the U.S. alliance system, and the U.S. can not hesitate to betray Saudi Arabia for the sake of Israel's interests, which makes Fahd realize that the baseline of national security is still in his own hands.
Unlike other arrogant political strongmen in the Middle East, King Fahd is simply sober and knows very well that the combat effectiveness of the Saudi army is very low, so it is unrealistic to pin national security on the army.
Of course, the Saudi army's combat effectiveness is also the result of the Saudi royal family's deliberate cause, and there have been countless historical lessons in the Middle East that remind the Saudi royal family that once the army is strong, a strongman will overthrow itself.
【King Fahd】
Since the army is unreliable, Fahd began to think about what could be directly in the hands of the royal family and have a huge strategic deterrent? The answer is imminent, that is, ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
For Fahd, the question is not the price of the missiles, but where to get them, because of international influence and political considerations, countries with ballistic missile technology will not easily sell such weapons.
China's considerations
Fahd initially approached the United States, which they hoped would export to Saudi Arabia the MGM-52 missile, which has a range of only 120 kilometers and is a short-range surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile.
【MGM-52】
The United States agreed in principle to export, but Israel came to the side at this time, demanding that the United States not complete the deal.
With the United States refusing to sell missiles, Fahd also understands that Saudi Arabia's status as an ally is indeed inferior to that of Israel, which shows the necessity of Saudi Arabia to seek a means of self-preservation.
Now that the West is out of the question, Saudi Arabia has begun to look to the East, and Fahd believes that China is likely to be the key to building Saudi Arabia's self-defense capabilities.
【Chinese Missiles】
This is because China, as a third-party country in the Cold War, did not side with either of the United States and the Soviet Union, and its diplomatic strategy was independent and would not be pressured by the United States and the Soviet Union.
At the same time, China is also one of the five major powers, has relatively mature missile technology, and there is no precedent for China to do business with political conditions.
To Fahd's ecstasy, China did not refuse to buy ballistic missiles after learning that Saudi Arabia was interested in buying ballistic missiles, but said that in principle, it could be exported, but the price needed to be further negotiated.
【Saudi Dongfeng 3】
That's what Fahd wants, as long as China is willing to sell, Fahd is willing to accept any offer. After some friendly exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia, the two countries reached a price that satisfied both sides, exporting Dongfeng-3 intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia at a price of $100 million each.
Dongfeng 3 is much more powerful than the MGM-52 that Saudi Arabia wanted to buy, with an effective range of up to 2500 kilometers, enough to cover the entire Middle East, and the Chinese are very interesting enough to say that they will be responsible for the construction of missile launch bases in Saudi Arabia and follow-up weapons maintenance.
The only requirement is that the Saudis must obtain China's consent to use the missiles.
【Saudi Dongfeng 3】
In other words, as long as Fahd does not want to conquer the Middle East with DF-3, China will not interfere with Saudi Arabia's use of missiles, and the arrival of DF-3 will immediately change Saudi Arabia's defense situation.
Even with conventional warheads, Saudi Arabia can easily destroy the head and core of the enemy country according to the size of the Middle Eastern countries, which makes all countries that attempt to invade Saudi Arabia think twice.
After Saddam Hussein launched the Gulf War in 1990, Iraq once wanted to send troops to Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia directly aimed Dongfeng 3 at Baghdad, and it was broadcast live on TV.
【Dongfeng 3】
Seeing this, the extremely arrogant Saddam Hussein could only give up his aggressive intentions, and Saudi Arabia was able to survive the war.
Sources:
[1] Wang Hongwei. Saudi Arabia's Arms Trade, CNKI, 2001
[2] U.S. Secretary of Defense: The U.S. will accelerate the dispatch of additional military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.chinanews.2019-09-21 [Citation date:2024-03-06]