Come on guys get please back to the subject. Chuck is also right there is certain amount of racism that color the relationship between Turkey and Europe.
Turkey feel spurned and rejected by the European and that will cause slow reorientation of Turkish politic . Turkey would be a natural leader for all the stans . They all speak one form or another Turkish languages. And now all the Stans are prospering from trade with China . So it is natural that Turkey want to join SCO . Anyway irrespective of China realizing the sale of HQ9 or not a milestone has been reached. China is now graduated to be first class supplier of Defense system. And word of defiance from vice premiere Here is the article
By David Lague
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Turkey's $4 billion order for a Chinese missile defense system is a breakthrough for China in its bid to become a supplier of advanced weapons, even though opposition from Washington and NATO threatens to derail the deal.
The winning bid from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) to deliver its FD-2000 air defense missile system in a joint production agreement with Turkey is the first time a Chinese supplier has won a major order for state-of-the-art equipment from a NATO member. U.S., Russian and Western European manufacturers were also in the fray.
The decision last week to award the contract to CPMIEC, a company that is under U.S. sanctions for dealings with Iran, North Korea and Syria, surprised global arms trade experts and senior NATO officials.
"It is quite significant I would say, if it materializes," said Oliver Brauner, a researcher on China's arms exports at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)."It would certainly be a landmark deal."
Turkey signaled on Monday that it could back away from its decision after Washington said it had "serious concerns" about the deal with a sanctioned company for a system that would not be compatible with NATO's other weapons and networks.
And, in a reminder that Ankara faces stiff opposition from its alliance partners in Europe, a NATO official in Brussels said it was important that equipment ordered by member countries is compatible.
"It is premature at this stage to say whether Turkey's acquisition will be able to operate with the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System," the official said.
NATO's disappointment with Turkey is heightened by the fact that the United States, Germany and the Netherlands each sent two Patriot batteries earlier this year after Ankara asked for help in beefing up its air defenses against the threat of missiles from Syria.
Ankara could call off the air defense deal under pressure, but some Chinese and foreign commentators suggested it would still be a symbolic victory for Beijing.
They say Turkey's willingness to choose the FD-2000 over established rivals confirms the rapid technical improvement and competitiveness of China's missile and aerospace sector.
Chinese military experts say the system performed well in live tests for the Turkish Defence Ministry.
It also signals that China's sprawling defense industry is poised to become a low cost supplier of high technology weaponry alongside its rapidly expanding sales of basic military equipment including small arms, artillery, armored vehicles, general purpose vehicles and older generation missiles.
CHINESE MILITARY EXPORTS SOARING
China has displaced the United Kingdom as the world's fifth biggest arms supplier in the five years to 2012, according to SIPRI.
Chinese exports of conventional weapons increased 162 per cent in the five years from 2008 to 2012 compared with the five years from 2003 to 2007, the arms trade monitor reported earlier this year.
Sales to close ally Pakistan accounted for most of this but China is also expanding its deliveries to other markets, mostly in the developing world.
While almost three decades of double digit, annual increases in military spending has accelerated Beijing's ambitious military build-up, it has also allowed China's defense factories to boost the quality and performance of home-grown weapons and military hardware.
"There are good reasons for China to succeed in Turkey," says Vasily Kashin, an arms trade expert at Moscow's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. "The key factors were price and the readiness to transfer technology."
CPMIEC, the marketing arm of China's missile manufacturing industry, outbid the Franco-Italian company Eurosam and its SAMP/T Aster 30 missile, Russia's Rosoboronexport's S-300 and Patriot air defense batteries from U.S. contractors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
Atilla Sandikli, the chairman of think-tank Bilgesam and a former high-level officer in the Turkish army, said an offer of technology transfer from China was decisive.
Turkey's NATO allies were less enthusiastic about co-production and technology sharing, he added.
"The only reason why Turkey didn't have them (the air defense systems) until now is because they wanted to achieve the technological information and know-how to produce these systems," Sandikli said."I think Turkey's choice is a message to its NATO allies in this sense."
Some analysts said Turkey's decision also reflected warming ties between Ankara and Beijing in recent years and a growing track record of defense cooperation.
Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst at Ankara-based think-tank TEPAV, said that Turkey and China already were in cooperation on short-range missile defense systems.
"Co-producing these systems also requires technology transfer, and China has no restrictions on it," he said.
Reports in China's state-run military press suggested the sale would open the door to further high technology orders in the West and other markets. Chinese military experts were quoted as saying that while price had been a key factor, the capability of the FD-2000 system also satisfied Turkey's demands.
China has been aggressively marketing this air defense system at arms exhibitions and air shows in recent years.
Military analysts familiar with the FD-2000 say it is a leading example of Chinese defense industry's capacity to absorb and adapt foreign technology, combine this with local innovation and ramp up low cost manufacturing.
Kashin said the Chinese missile system was partly based on Western technology obtained from Israel and also drew on Russian know-how.
It was possible that Russia supplied some of the components and technology under contracts with China, he said.
According to marketing material for the FD-2000 and reports in the Chinese military press, the missiles, launchers, radars, vehicles and support systems of the mobile FD-2000 are all designed and built in China.
It is reported to be effective in intercepting high performance strike aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), precision guided bombs and a range of missiles. It is also advertised that it remains effective during heavy air strikes and electronic interference.
(Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Ece Toksabay and Can Sezer in Istanbul and Adrian Croft in Brussels; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Turkey defend choice of Chinese defense system, says interests matter
1 October 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, ANKARA
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has defended NATO member Turkey's selection of a Chinese missile system for its long-term, long-range missile and aerial defense program, code-named T-Loramids -- a move that has angered the US -- saying Turkey's interests are a priority and that it is not right for other countries to have a say in the matter.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting on Monday, Arınç underlined that some issues -- referring to Turkey's NATO membership and its selection of a Chinese firm -- should not be mixed and that the Turkish government only thinks about Turkey's interests.
“We do not consider anything other than Turkey's interests. The US authorities have already voiced their respectful remarks," Arınç said, adding that the US made no accusations against Turkey over its choice.
The Turkish Defense Industry Implementation Committee (SSİK) announced the decision that the contract to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system worth $4 billion would be awarded to the Chinese firm China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) in a statement on Thursday, rejecting rival bids from Russian, US and European firms. CPMIEC was sanctioned by the United States in February for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
Washington said on Saturday it had expressed serious concerns to Turkey over its decision to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system with a Chinese firm under US sanctions.
Jen Psaki, US State Department spokeswoman, said the United States has made its concerns clear to Turkey at a high level.
"We have conveyed our serious concerns about the Turkish government's contract discussions with the US-sanctioned company for a missile defense system that will not be inter-operable with NATO systems or collective defense capabilities," Psaki said at a daily briefing for reporters. "Our discussions will continue."
Psaki said the United States had taken note of comments by Turkey that the deal was not yet final. If a deal was finalized "then we will talk about that at that point," she added.
US Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone said that as Turkey is a NATO ally, when the US sees the need for Turkey's defense, it will act as an ally. "We are going to do that for as long as we are allies. We hope you will choose a NATO compatible system so that you will have the best air defense system in the world,” he said, addressing Turkey.
Arınç noted that Turkey has been preparing for the tender for years and many countries' firms working in the defense industry had participated in the tender.
The main competitors for the tender were the Patriot missile long-range air defense system, produced by US partners Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; Russia's Rosoboronexport with its S-400 system; China's HQ9, exported as the FD-2000; and the Italian-French Eurosam and its SAMP/T Aster 30.
China's bid was the lowest, less than $3 billion. Arınç added that the main reason why Turkey had chosen the Chinese bidder was because it offered the lowest price and they reached an agreement to co-produce the missile systems in Turkey.
“It is not possible for another country to say, 'I have a problem with them. I put them on a black list or a red list, so how could you give them a tender?'” Arınç said, adding that when considering Turkey's interests, the Turkish government did not hesitate to choose the Chinese firm.
“We are a member of NATO and we have had good relations from the beginning with NATO countries, especially the United States. However, when it comes to the subject of defending Turkey … we have the power to make a decision without looking to anyone else," Arınç said.
Turkey has decided to start contract negotiations with CPMIEC on its six-year project to acquire long-range missile and air defense systems.
CPMIEC does not make missiles itself. The two main manufacturers are China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC). CASC makes intercontinental ballistic missiles, while CASIC focuses on short- and intermediate-range rockets.
The project is intended to bridge Turkey's gap in missile defense. Turkey opened a contract in March 2007 for the acquisition of long-range missiles, at the time citing, though implicitly, an effort to deter a possible threat from neighboring Iran.
Arınç said while the deal had not yet been completed, the initial selection had been based on the Chinese offer being the most economical and because some of the production would be carried out in conjunction with Turkey.
“Once the process is over, the production would start,” he added.
President Abdullah Gül also stated that though Turkey is a NATO member state, after looking at the conditions, the purchase would be definite.
Turkey has for long been purchasing its military hardware and other equipment from the US, Germany and its other Western allies as part of a policy of integrating its weapons systems with NATO military equipment.
With the second-largest deployable military force in the NATO alliance, Turkey has no long-range missile defense system of its own, though NATO deployed the US-built Patriot air and missile defense system in Turkey in 2012.
