Is Belgrade thinking about buying Chinese AA system, or is it done deal?

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Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has denied reports his country has already bought the China-made antiaircraft batteries FK-3 and added the purchase had been considered, but an expert has told N1 on Wednesday it has been a done deal.

Aleksandar Radic, a military analyst, said the buying of the Chinese weapons was agreed according to the reports from the SDPR, the leading state arms dealer, adding that if that was a mistake, the company should deny.

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 On Monday,  the US warned Serbia about the purchase and Vucic later said Belgarde was still considering it.

Radic added that „the new Chinese ambition is to enter the world market and sell a defence system to a European country.“

Song Jongping, a Chinese military expert, confirmed „the move opens channels to China to enter the European arms market,“ adding Serbia would „soon“ buy FK-3.

In an article for Global Times, a Chinese newspaper, Jongping recalled that Serbia introduced six Chinese CH-92A drones in its combat forces in early July and thus became the first European country to use the Chinese drones in its military.

Some Russian media reportssuggested Moscow was surprised with Belgrade decision to buy Chinese AA system instead of the Russian-made S-300, which was widely expected.

Commenting on those reports, Radic said that an atmosphere was created in Serbia’s public that S-300 would be bought and that it was not surprising that the Russians were disappointed.

„Russia and China are natural partners, and many technologies which Beijing buys from Moscow and sells to the third countries, hurts Russia a lot,“ Radic added.

According to him, „China worries the EU and the Americans more than Russia, but that in Serbia’s Presidency, „where all decisions are obviously made,“ the political concern is higher than the military one.

NATO’s reactions seem to be modest.

An unnamed Alliance’s official told the Voice of America (VOA) that Serbia had the right to choose its political and security arrangments freely. He said NATO and Serbia cooperated in many areas and „are close partners.“

Michael Carpenter, a US former official in the Defence Department, said Washington wouldn’t deal with that too intensively.

He recalled that Serbia had been balancing its foreign policy between Russia, China, the EU and US.

„President Vucic undoubtedly considers such an approach in relations with those four entities as the most secured for his regime, bearing in mind an uncertainty of the EU membership and a big obstacle in implementing the rule of law criteria which it has to overcome to join the bloc,“ Carpenter said.

But, Frederick Ben Hodges, former commander of the US ground forces in Europe, warned Serbia to be aware of the risk in buying the Chinese weapons.

„Doing business with China usually ends in significant technology theft, employment of Chinese instead of local workers and huge debts,“ Hodges, an associate with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said.

He added the motive for such military cooperation was Serbia’s authorities’ attempts to show its strength to the electorate at home and other countries in the Balkans.

On the other hand, the EU seems to take that cooperation a bit more seriously and said it expected Serbia to behave in line with the obligations it committed itself to.

„Serbia’s authorities say the EU integrations is the country’s strategic priority. We expect Belgrade to act accordingly… Serbia’s progress towards the EU means it has to adjust its policies to the Union’s foreign and security policy,“ Peter Stano, the EU chief spokesperson for foreign and security affairs told VOA.

The US multimedia agency recalled that despite Vucic’s statement from last December that Serbia would focus on modernising its military and stop buying new weaponry, on February 2020, Belgrade bought the Russian-made ‘Armour S’ (Pancir S) rocket system.

The price Serbia paid for the six orders remained unknown. What is known is that a single such system costs between 13 and 14.6 million US Dollars, depending on its version.

VOA reported that the information published by Serbia’s Defence Ministry said the US was the biggest donor to the Army of Serbia from 2008 to 2019.

Between 2014 and 2019, it added, Serbia received some ten million Dollars aid in equipment and cash, while China was at the second place with 5.2 million Euro donation.

The Ministry’s report, which covers 2020 as well, showed donations’ contracts which did not mention Russia among 23 donors, while China appeared once with a donation estimated to over 4.3 million Dollars.