Journal of International Studies

The Turkish government’s  recent decision  to award its high-altitude missile defense contract to China conjured images of the residents of Troy rejoicing the large, Greek-made wooden horse near the end of the Trojan Wars. That story did not have a pleasant end for the Trojans. It is not clear how this one will play out for Ankara and its NATO allies. Turkey’s decision to choose the Chinese-made FD-2000  over the U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 , the Russian-made S-400, and the French-Italian EUROSAM SAMP/T may seem odd for a country that has been a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) since 1952. 22 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, commitment to NATO and good relations with Washington remain the cornerstones of Ankara’s foreign policy calculus. That calculation seems irreconcilable with the fact that the manufacturer of the FD-2000, CPMIEC (China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation),  is under U.S. sanctions  for doing busin...

NATO member states are strongly opposed to Turkey’s decision to purchase a Chinese-built missile defense system, with one NATO official calling the missile system a “virus,” according  to a report  in the Turkish newspaper, the  Hurriyet Daily News . “NATO’s own command and control system that ‘mashes’ input from allied networks is far more important than a Chinese air defense system in Turkey,” an unnamed defense attaché from a NATO member state was quoted as saying by  Hurriyet Daily News.  “There is no place for China within this critical system. We would not wish to see a virus in a complex system.” An unnamed NATO ambassador in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city was even blunter, telling  Hurriyet : “I have no idea why the Turks do not see the simple fact that the alliance’s security threat perception in the next 20 years is based on China. Air and missile defense will be the top defense issue in the foreseeable future, wit...

At first sight, there is little in common between the “Kanal Istanbul” project and Turkey’s purchase of Chinese missiles. Yet, these two projects, both still in their early stages, are very telling of Turkey’s willingness to go its own way, irrespective of the consequences. Kanal Istanbul is a new artificial waterway to be dug between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Officially, the project is justified by the inherent dangers of transporting petroleum products, natural gas and chemicals through a city of 15 million inhabitants.  Experts have already signaled some of the potential consequences for two of the globe’s most fragile seas. Levels of salinity and oxygen, the transfer of pollutants, marine life, currents, sea temperature and underground waters would all be affected by the new canal.  On a regional level, six countries bordering the Black Sea and the Mediterranean would be affected by the project: Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine...

By   Zachary Keck In a move that surprised many, a Chinese defense company has won a US$4billion contract to help Turkey develop a long-range air and missile defense system, winning out over competing bids from U.S., EU, and Russian defense companies. Following a meeting by the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries’ (SSM) executive committee on Thursday, Turkey announced it had selected a proposal by China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp. (CPMEIC) to jointly develop its  HQ-9 system  (FT-2000). CPMEIC won out over bids from U.S.-based Raytheon and Lockheed Martin’s Patriot missile defense system; Russia’s Rosoboronexport’s S-300; and Italian-French consortium Eurosam’s SAMP/T Aster 30. Although  there have been rumors  that Turkey was leaning toward CPMEIC, the news came as a shock to many. Turkey is a founding member of NATO, which is deploying the Patriot missile defense system in various countries throughout Europe. T...