An Israeli upgrade program for the Chinese military has provoked a so-called crisis of confidence in U.S.-Israeli relations. The Pentagon’s Doug Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, accused the Israeli defense ministry’s top official of behavior unbecoming a close strategic ally, according to Israeli press reports.

Israel’s Channel Two television reported Dec. 15 that Feith had demanded the resignation of retired Maj. Gen. Amos Yaron, the widely respected and longtime director-general of Israel’s MoD. According to the report, Feith was outraged that Yaron did not inform him of an ongoing upgrade to an Israeli-developed military system sold to China in 1994.

Israel’s military censor has banned publication of the name or details of the system being upgraded for China. However, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in a report to Congress in June last year, singled out the Harpy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as an issue of particular concern. According to the commission, China’s People’s Liberation Army “has apparently integrated the Harpy into its operational forces, since they appeared in exercises during 2002.”

The Commission noted that Harpy, built by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., has a range of about 500 kilometers, carries a high-explosive warhead, and is designed to detect, attack and destroy radar emitters.

“These systems pose a significant threat to various critical military C4ISR facilities on Taiwan as well as to U.S. operational forces operating in the region,” the Commission warned.

Feith and Yaron run a number of bilateral committees charged with crafting and implementing policies and programs pertaining to U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation. One such group was created to make more transparent Israel’s controversial defense trade with Beijing.

The Pentagon and Israel’s MoD both denied that Feith or anyone else in the U.S. government was demanding Yaron’s resignation.

But follow-up reports carried by Israeli newspapers Dec. 16 warned of a crisis of confidence between the two allies over the Israeli upgrade program in China.

“We view these issues as matters of policy that transcend personalities,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. “It’s not a personal matter, and we’re in no position to tell other countries who their officials should be.”

Whitman noted that Pentagon officials routinely share concerns about China’s modernization program with the Israelis as well as European and other allied nations around the world.

“Do we discuss these matters with the Israeli government? We certainly do ... and this goes back to 2000, when very legitimate collective security concerns prompted us to work closely with the Israeli government to cancel the early warning radar system they were selling.”

Since July 2000, when American political pressure forced Israel to cancel a major sale of Israeli-developed Phalcon early warning aircraft to China, Washington and Tel Aviv have been working to improve coordination and transparency regarding the extent of Israeli defense trade with Beijing. At the time, U.S. President Bill Clinton and senior members from both political parties of the U.S. Congress claimed sales of sensitive Israeli frontline military equipment harmed U.S. national security interests in the Asia Pacific and could threaten U.S. forces deployed in the region. That view remains unchanged and has even intensified, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in a report to Congress in June of last year. In its report, the bipartisan commission urged the Administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to persist in efforts to prevent Israel from selling advanced weaponry to the People’s Republic.

As for the ongoing upgrade program that prompted the recent controversy, an Israeli MoD official insisted Pentagon working-level officials were informed as a matter of courtesy, even though he said the program in question is an indigenous Israeli development devoid of U.S. technology, and therefore does not require U.S. government export approval.

“The Americans knew about this program for months. It was discussed in the context of ongoing efforts to enhance coordination and consultation,” the official said.

Eli Kamir, media advisor to Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, noted in a statement that U.S. concerns over the unspecified system were raised a few months ago by the U.S. government. “The subject is being dealt with on both sides, and is being done in a good atmosphere. There is no American call for firing MoD Director-General Amos Yaron and in this regard, it is not an agenda item,” Kamir said. He added that Mofaz has full confidence in Yaron and “is fully appreciative of his work” on behalf of Israel’s MoD.