Sudan and China

Cooperating militarily.

Peter Pham writing in World Defense Review, writes:

Sudan. Despite the now three-year-old orgy of rape, torture, mutilation, and killing in which up to half a million black Africans have perished and another 2.5 million driven from their homes in the Darfur region – a situation that even the United Nations has labeled "the world's worst humanitarian crisis" – the chief of the joint staff of the Sudanese armed forces, Haj Ahmed El Gaili, enjoyed a weeklong "goodwill visit" to China in April courtesy of Liang Guanglie, chief of PLA general staff, who was undoubtedly eager to cultivate the officer from the country on whom Beijing is now dependent for 7 percent of its oil imports. According to a report from the official Xinhua news agency, the visiting Sudanese general also had an opportunity to meet with Chinese defense minister Cao Gangchuan, who gushed: "Military relations between China and Sudan have developed smoothly…China and Sudan have enjoyed profound friendship though the two countries are far apart. China cherished the traditional friendship with Sudan and would like to further promote bilateral cooperation in various fields." No doubt that cooperation will include new arms sales on top of the $100 million worth of Shenyang fighter jets, including a dozen supersonic F-7s, already delivered. In a report earlier this year, Amnesty International expressed its concern that:

[T]he Sudan Air Force has transferred these jet bombers to Darfur…without authority from the UN Sanctions Committee and is highly likely to use these newly acquired jets, as it has other aircraft, and the acquisition of expertise to fly the jets supplied from China, for indiscriminate attacks in Darfur in violation of the UN arms embargo and international humanitarian law, thus also posing serious questions about the systems of accountability and training provided to the Sudan Air Force to ensure respect for that universal law.