According to China expert Gu Feng, this could be very concerning to the United States.
As part of the agreement, China offered to provide Iran access to its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to enhance Iran’s combat capabilities. Iran said it will install the BDS for its missiles.
The CSCA also included two other actions; that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will invest $400 billion in Iran for energy and infrastructure construction, and oil and trade transactions between China and Iran will be settled in Chinese yuan.
Settlement in Yuan Bypasses US Sanctions on Iran
Under U.S. sanctions, countries are prohibited from conducting oil transactions with Iran, and if the U.S. dollar is used in such transactions, the relevant banks will be subject to U.S. secondary sanctions, leading them to have all their financial ties with the United States severed, and all businesses and assets frozen.In addition, the United States has pressured the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) to cut telecommunication ties with Iran.
However, if the yuan is used to settle oil trade between the CCP and Iran, the CCP will enable Iran to get around the restrictions tied to using U.S. dollars, thus largely circumventing U.S. sanctions.
China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil. From the CCP’s perspective, if oil purchases must be settled in U.S. dollars, it must pay huge fees in order to convert yuan into U.S. dollars.
BDS Will Enhance Iran’s Combat Power—A Nightmare for the World
From a military point of view, an advanced navigation system is a starting point to ensure that missiles hit their target accurately. It is believed that although Iran lacks an effective navigation system, it has never dared to use the United States or the EU navigation systems because the signal may be cut off in the event of a Western-led military conflict.However, installation of the BDS for Iranian missiles will improve targeting accuracy to a certain extent, and pose a threat to the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet in the Persian Gulf.
BDS is one of the four core providers of global satellite navigation systems recognized by the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG), established in 2005 under the umbrella of the United Nations. The other three suppliers are the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Global Navigation System (GLONASS), and the European Union’s Global Satellite Navigation System Galileo.
He said that the BDS was developed by the CCP with the purpose of eliminating U.S. GPS military restrictions. The CCP took 26 years to build it, invested more than $12 billion, and launched 55 satellites to get BDS into operation.
The CCP is now actively promoting BDS via its “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Among 137 signatory countries, more than 100 frequently use the BDS—most of them in Southeast Asia and Africa.
More than 30 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and other regions also use BDS.
Gu said that BDS is a huge and complex aerospace project, and has 31 more satellites than the U.S. GPS system. The operation of its space and Earth network involves the coordinated scheduling and monitoring management of dozens of systems and tens of thousands of pieces of equipment.
Through BDS, the CCP will be able to put in place a vast system that can monitor the entire globe.
Gu said that once Iran introduces BDS, the power of the regime’s missile force will multiply.
After Iran has the BDS online, the nightmare of the United States will begin, he said. With increased navigation accuracy, Iran could use ballistic missiles to strike U.S. aircraft carriers, and the situation in the Middle East is likely to change.
Iran has developed and equipped a number of ballistic missiles. As recently as January this year, it tested missiles of various ranges. The missiles are capable of carrying a 650 kilogram (1,400 pound) warhead and have a range of approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
North Korea Received BDS Training From the CCP
South Korean media Donga.com reported back in 2014 that 19 experts from eight Asia-Pacific countries, including North Korea, had received training in China on the technology and applications of BDS.The report said North Korea had learned satellite navigation technology in China and was likely to use it exclusively for military purposes, which was a cause for concern in South Korea.
The report said that in the first half of 2014, North Korean drones used the most basic GPS technology when they took pictures of Cheong Wa Dae, the official residence of the President of South Korea, and Baengnyeong Island in South Korea.
Changes in US Policy Toward Iran
In July 2015, the five permanent members of the United Nations, including the United States and China, as well as Germany signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal).In May 2018, former U.S. President Trump withdrew from the deal after announcing that it was “defective at its core.”
Trump said, “If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen. In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapon.”
The Trump administration then imposed more than 1,600 sanctions on Iran, including an oil embargo and comprehensive economic sanctions.
On April 6, the new U.S. administration and Iran held indirect talks through European representatives in a show of “shuttle diplomacy” signaling the United States’ return to engagement on the Iran nuclear deal.
Although the United States, Iran, and Europe all called the talks “constructive,” the U.S. side said it did not expect an immediate breakthrough.
The Iranian side, on the other hand, has taken a hard-line stance in the talks.
U.S.-based current affairs commentator Li Yanming said to The Epoch Times that the CCP could have played a role in Iran’s tough stance.
He said the 25-year CSCA between the CCP and Iran is a major blow to the Biden administration.
“The public alliance between the CCP and Iran is a sign that the CCP will further contain U.S. military deployments in the Middle East through Iran, distracting U.S. control over the Indo-Pacific region, and paving the way for its military expansion in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the world,” Li said.
