BRITAIN & CCP SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP MARGARET THATCHER British company demonstrated cluster bombs to Chinese military engineers in 1980
Chinese engineers were even allowed to “witness a demonstration” of the weapon at a cluster bomb factory in Hertfordshire during the summer of 1980.
BRITAIN & CCP SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
MARGARET THATCHER
British company demonstrated cluster bombs to Chinese military engineers in 1980
UK officials believed cluster bombs were widely viewed as ‘terror weapons’
A Conservative prime minister flirted with selling up to 10,000 cluster bombs to communist China at the height of the Cold War, it can be revealed.
Margaret Thatcher allowed civil servants to pursue the secretive arms deal with Beijing in a bid to make millions of pounds for British industry.
Chinese engineers were even allowed to “witness a demonstration” of the weapon at a cluster bomb factory in Hertfordshire during the summer of 1980.
A secret test of the weapon – to be dropped from a Chinese aircraft in China – was also contemplated.
Ultimately Beijing appears to have lost interest in the negotiations, with some suspicion in London that the regime would not order enough bombs to make it financially worthwhile.
Our revelation comes amid renewed concern about the dangers cluster bombs pose to civilians, with US president Joe Biden authorising their supply to Ukraine.
It is unclear whether Biden will transport the weapons to Kyiv via US bases in Britain. The Ministry of Defence press office did not provide clarity on the matter when asked by Declassified.
Cluster bombs drop dozens of smaller bomblets over a wide area. Many miss the target and some fail to detonate on impact.
https://www.declassifieduk.org/britain-tried-to-sell-china-100m-of-cluster-bombs/
These ‘duds’ can kill civilians long after a conflict has ended, often when children mistake unexploded bomblets for toys.