Media investigation reveals use of German technology in Chinese warships
Nov 10, 2021
Berlin [Germany], November 10 : A media investigation has revealed that engines developed in Germany are used in Chinese navy warships.
An investigation by public broadcaster ARD and the Welt am Sonntag newspaper revealed on Saturday that several types of Chinese navy warships are powered by engines that were either developed or built by German manufacturers, reported DW News.
According to the report, the two companies involved are MTU in Friedrichshafen and the French branch of the Volkswagen subsidiary MAN.
The details on MTU's engine deliveries in China were found on the publicly available website of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). SIPRI catalogues arms deals and weapons transfers for publications and reports.
According to SIPRI, MTU was a regular supplier of engines for Luyang III class missile destroyers through a licensed production plant in China until at least 2020. Additionally, MTU reportedly supplied engines that were used in China's Song-class submarines, reported DW News.
Both companies told the media that they have always complied with export control regulations and have put into the public record that they have been involved with China's military.
The company's headquarters told ARD and Welt am Sonntag that they had "definitively stopped" supplying engines for the submarines. The company claims it had not "entered into any contracts with the Chinese Defense Ministry or armed forces."
However, the engines developed in Germany can evade export control bans due to their status as a so-called dual-use technology, reported DW News.
Following the massacre of students and others protesting for democracy in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the EU imposed an arms embargo but with limited binding effect.
Sebastian Rossner, a Cologne-based lawyer and export expert, told Germany's ARD public broadcaster: "Because the EU arms embargo on China was not formally decided in accordance with the European treaties, certain exports of ship engines may also be permissible for the Chinese navy."
"If you want to change this, the EU must either amend the Dual-Use Regulation or formally impose an arms embargo," he added.
China has aggressively asserted territorial claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea in recent years, raising tensions with the United States and its European allies.
