Arms Sales

The government said it will end secrecy surrounding arms deals with other countries, sweeping away the cloak-and-dagger approach of the apartheid era. Kader Asmal, chairman of the state arms control committee, said the Cabinet had agreed to proposals to provide maximum public disclosure. Under the new regulations, disclosure would include the total value of a contract, a description of items, the date of export and details of any counter-trade arrangements.

The Swedish government has banned all arms shipments to Singapore after officials said missiles sold to the country had been illegally diverted to the Mideast, the Foreign Trade Ministry said Wednesday. A spokesman said the ban will remain in force while police investigate the alleged sale of Swedish missiles to Dubai and Bahrain in violation of Swedish laws banning exports to countries at war or in zones of conflict.

In the Sept. 21 editorial, "Hu's Window of Opportunity," the assertion that a military clash in the Taiwan Strait would quickly draw in the United States and force the international community to take sides is an important reminder that this region remains a potential flash point with devastating consequences that best be avoided. Yet Beijing now has more than 500 ballistic missiles positioned along its southern coastal provinces aimed at Taiwan, a free and democratic sovereign nation of 23 million people.

President Bush on Tuesday signed post-Iran-Contra legislation banning U.S. foreign aid and commercial arms sales to countries supporting international terrorism. The State Department has specified states supporting terrorism as Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, South Yemen and Syria. In a written statement, Bush said he wished "to re-emphasize this nation's strong determination to oppose international terrorists and the states that support them."

The United States dominated arms sales to the Middle East last year, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the weapons flow into the region despite pledges of restraint, an international research group said. U.S. sales to the region in the wake of the Persian Gulf War edged over $3 billion in 1991, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, far eclipsing all other arms suppliers. The figure marked an increase from the $2.8-billion figure posted in 1990. Primary U.S.

The Defense Department notified Congress it had approved the sale of howitzers and artillery-locating radar sets to Turkey. Assuming there are no congressional objections, the Pentagon said Friday that the Turkish government would be offered 36 155-millimeter howitzers for $44 million and six AN-TPQ-36 radar sets for $27 million. The Army will oversee both transactions. The Pentagon said the radar sets would be built by the Hughes Aircraft Corp. in Fullerton, Calif.

The arms that the Saudis have been buying for many years proved to be worthless when they had to defend themselves against threatened aggression from Iraq. Will additional arms enable them to provide for their own defense? We should only supply arms when we get a commitment that their new ordnance will be manned by their own people and will then be used to replace our men and weapons. JOSEPH GRODSKY Los Angeles

Taiwanese attack helicopters, missile boats and tanks pounded targets during war games Friday, days before Washington decides whether it will sell the island advanced weapons. Holding the live-fire drills so close to U.S.-Taiwan arms sales talks--scheduled to begin Tuesday in Washington--risked adding more tension to America's fragile relationship with China. Ties have already been strained by the April 1 collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.

The United States said it had protested to Moscow about reports that Russian firms have sold Iraq anti-tank missiles, night vision goggles and electronic jamming gear. The State Department said Moscow's response was not satisfactory. The Washington Post reported the Bush administration said that one company was helping Iraq deploy jamming equipment against U.S. planes and bombs, and that two others have sold anti-tank missiles and night-vision goggles in violation of U.N. sanctions.