"I hoard guns when my neighbors store grain, and my neighbors are my granaries. ”
Saudi Arabia in the 80s, although it was worth a lot of money, but it was not very peaceful.
The Iranian Air Force uses Saudi airspace as a backyard, coming and going as if it were in a no-man's land"Outsiders" Israel relies on Jericho missiles to show off its 'force' in front of Saudi Arabia all day longThe United States, an ally, not only did not help itself to stand on its own platform, but on the contrary, it fell into the trap.
Saudi Arabia is in a precarious situation and urgently needs a strategic ** to arm itself and deter Xiaoxiao.
It is not possible to possess nuclear weapons for the time being, so we can only hope for medium-range missiles with long distances and high power. However, at that time, the only countries in the world possessed medium-range missiles were the Soviet Union, the United States and China.
Needless to say, the USSR certainly did not sell. Putting aside the incompatibility between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which were supported by the Soviet Union at the time, Saudi Arabia had always been at odds with the United States, and the Soviet Union would never allow the threat of an unstable factor to expand.
The attitude of the United States is also very simple - do not sell!Saudi Arabia bought ** to confront Israel, but at this time, the United States is in cahoots with Israel, constantly stirring up wars in the Middle East to fight for territory, how can the United States sell missiles to Saudi Arabia?
However, Saudi Arabia is an old ally of the United States, so Saudi Arabia pondered playing the emotional card and vaguely stated that it wanted to buy American "Lance" missiles, but who knew that the United States did not miss the old feelings, so it directly refused.
This kind of tactical missile, which has a range of only 120 kilometers, also needs to be humbly tested, and Saudi Arabia is afraid that it will really have no tricks at that time.
In desperation, Saudi Arabia thought of China.
And will our country sell missiles to the Saudis?
[two].
As soon as he said it, Saudi Prince Sultan was ordered to approach China, and the operation was codenamed "Peregrine Falcon".
In 1986, Prince Sultan spent a whole year getting to know China, and he found that China was worthy of being a country of etiquette, and that the Chinese representatives were humble and courteous, and they were not at all as arrogant as the United States, so he had a good opinion of China.
In 1987, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan came to China and said he wanted to buy a few "second kicks".
At first glance, this request sounded very unreasonable, because Saudi Arabia had not yet formally established diplomatic relations with us at that time, and had been following the United States before, and to some extent it was not close to us, not to mention that even Saudi Arabia's "big brother" the United States did not sell, so why should we sell it?
Originally, the Saudi prince also had no expectations, and he should come to test the water.
Before leaving, Saudi King Fahd also made a special explanation:"As long as it doesn't exceed $8 billion, everything is negotiable. ”
But to the surprise of the Saudis, China agreed, which means "agreed in principle**".
The reason for China's nod is simple:
First, we were short of money at that time, very, very short of money, China was in the early stage of reform and opening up, and there were many places to use money, and the foreign exchange reserves were only 2 billion US dollars, so it can be said that we were poor to the point of home, while Saudi Arabia was notoriously rich in money.
Second, Saudi Arabia is located in the core of the Middle East, and the Middle East happens to be one of the regions where China seeks to increase its influence.
This time, Saudi Arabia is aiming for China's national weapon, the "Dongfeng-3" missile.
This missile is the first generation of medium-range ballistic missiles developed by China in the 60s, which can carry conventional warheads and nuclear warheads, with a maximum range of 2,800 kilometers in the ordinary version and even up to 4,000 kilometers in the enhanced version, covering more than the entire territory of the Middle East.
If Saudi Arabia is equipped with the "Dongfeng-3", even if it is only used as a mascot, neighboring countries will not dare to throw their faces again.
When the Saudi prince heard the performance parameters of the "Dongfeng-3", he couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart and couldn't wait to place an order. China saw that Saudi Lao Tie was so refreshing, hesitated for a moment and slowly stretched out a finger.
But the Saudi prince showed a suspicious look.
China mistakenly thinks that the asking price is too high?Really can't you miss the point?
But the next sentence directly refreshes our perception of Saudi trenches, the Saudi prince said:"$100 million?Deal!”
In this way, Saudi Arabia, a wealthy man in the Middle East, bought 35 Dongfeng missiles in one go.
In fact, when China stretched out a finger, it was ready to be bargained, but the wealthy Saudi Arabia not only did not feel expensive, but gave an unexpected **. One thinks it's expensive, and the other thinks it's cheap, which can be regarded as a joy for the guests and hosts.
The amount of this order is as high as 3.5 billion US dollars, which is the largest single arms order since the founding of the People's Republic of China, setting a number of records, and also helping China and Saudi Arabia to establish the most basic trust, laying a good foundation for diplomatic and oil cooperation.
[three].
In December, Prince Sultan and his Chinese side negotiated a secret air base in southern Saudi Arabia for a week, during which detailed drafts were drawn up, including how to transport, which bases to choose, and after-sales.
However, the most difficult part is not the price, but how to achieve clandestine transportation.
In order to avoid the eyes and ears of the United States, Saudi Arabia can be described as well-intentioned.
In February 1987, a delegation headed by Prince Sultan prepared to pass through Malaysia and then secretly go to China.
In order to prevent the outside world from becoming suspicious, Saudi Arabia also let out the wind: this trip is to dissuade China from buying some light light ones from Iran to defend Saudi Arabia's oil field facilities.
At that time, the Iran-Iraq war was in full swing, and once Saudi Arabia was involved, Saudi Arabia, which was militarily weak, would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
The second time Saudi Arabia went to China for negotiations, he didn't pretend directly, and even participated in the British ambassador's luncheon on the eve of departure.
However, an accident made the itinerary abrupt, and the Saudi delegation met the emir of the Bahraini royal family during a stop in Hong Kong, and the emir couldn't help but be suspicious when he saw that the Saudi delegation was full of generals.
As a result, Zhongsha immediately launched Plan B - improvisation.
The Chinese representative secretly went to Hong Kong with the documents to negotiate with the Saudi side, but fortunately, there was no danger, and the second Saudi Arabian visit to China for negotiations was successfully concluded.
China and Saudi Arabia both have 12 points of sincerity for this cooperation, but after all, the "Dongfeng series" missiles have not yet been tested in actual combat, and before the cooperation is completely finalized, it can be regarded as a reassuring pill for the other side to see the true face of the "Dongfeng-3" with Saudi Arabia.
So one day, the Saudi representative went to the Chinese missile base to test-fire the "Dongfeng-3" missile, and the Saudi representative was extremely satisfied, and the two sides formally signed an agreement. After that, China sent professional and technical personnel to Saudi Arabia for training and guidance.
Both sides have their own place.
Here comes the question:What was the reaction of the United States when it learned about this?
[4].
The reaction of the United States was, of course, that it was angry.
However, when the raw rice is cooked and the daylilies are cold, the United States can only be incompetent and furious, and maliciously slander it in the Washington Post, claiming that the missiles in China and Saudi Arabia have hidden evil intentions and are not conducive to peace in the Middle East.
The United States is still the same, always playing those little tricks.
This time, instead of giving in, Saudi Arabia has further deepened its cooperation with China.
In fact, Saudi Arabia has long looked at the United States unpleasantly.
Israel is the "spokesman" of the United States in the Middle East, while Saudi Arabia and Israel have always been at odds with each other.
In 1973, the fourth Middle East war broke out, at first Israel was beaten badly, once in a situation of life and death, the United States disregarded the international **, brazenly attacked, directly sent the air force to support Israel, and let Israel stage a Jedi counterattack.
Arab countries were very annoyed and directly announced "sanctions" against the United States, and American oil ** skyrocketed, and then the oil crisis broke out.
In 1981, with the support of the United States, Israel defied Saudi sovereignty and brazenly skimmed Saudi airspace to destroy Iraq's nuclear reactor under construction, causing renewed tension in the Middle East.
In the face of the situation surrounded by wolves, Saudi Arabia has long had enough of that kind of life, and Israel's continuous fault-finding and obstruction behind it also makes Saudi Arabia soberly aware that only with a strong strategy can it keep its "money bag".
[Five].
In fact, Israel was already bullish on China before that.
In September 1965, the Second Indo-Pakistani War broke out. India, with the support of the Soviet Union, launched a fierce attack on Pakistan under the banner of regaining the "lost" Kashmir region, in a vain attempt to annihilate Pakistan in one fell swoop.
This makes Saudi Arabia very anxious, once the "iron-blooded ally" Pakistan falls, if Saudi Arabia falls into the wolf's den, the ambitious India will inevitably unite with Iran and other Saudi hostile forces to fight, so in the Indo-Pakistani war, Saudi Arabia is willing to help Pakistan.
But Saudi Arabia itself is a mud bodhisattva crossing the river, and it is difficult to protect itself.
The alliance agreement between the United States and Pakistan is also in name only, and the United States not only watched from the sidelines, but also imposed an embargo on Pakistan and turned to support India!The unprepared Pakistani army was defeated and retreated, and Pakistan was in danger.
The people of Pakistan are desperate that God is the only one who can save Pakistan.
At this existential juncture, China has struck.
China has sent a large number of army units and Type 59 main battle tanks into Pakistan to assist the Pakistani army in defending itself against the invaders. In just a few days, the Indian army was wilted.
On September 12, China issued an ultimatum to India, demanding that it immediately withdraw its troops, cease its aggressive actions, and order the dismantling of all military fortifications along the Sino-Indian border. Although India is a "warmonger," as soon as it sees that the situation is not right, it immediately admits its instigation and withdraws its troops in the shortest possible time.
Pakistan is very grateful to China, and the friendship between China and Pakistan and the "Pakistani railway" also came about in this way, and it is no wonder that the Prime Minister of Pakistan publicly said some time ago"If bullets come, we will definitely stand in front of the Chinese." ”
Saudi Arabia has also changed its previous estranged attitude towards China.
You must know that before that, Saudi Arabia was once mixed with the United States.
Taoism pays attention to cause and effect, and China's righteous action against Pakistan has been exchanged for Basha's friendship with China.
[Six].
In 1990, Saudi Arabia began to prepare for the operation of the "Dongfeng-3" missile base, Saudi Arabia can be said to be very tough at this time, there is no doubt that which does not open its eyes dares to provoke Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia will inevitably return to the "Dongfeng Express".
Coincidentally, as soon as Saudi Arabia ran a missile base on the front foot, Saddam Hussein on the rear foot pressed the border with a large army, and Chen Bing Kesha border. In just one day, Kuwait fell completely, and 100,000 troops were aimed at the eastern border of Saudi Arabia.
Iraq has been in war all year round, and it is not too much to say that all the people are soldiers, if it is a purely conventional battle, Saudi Arabia will not have the confidence to win, but this time, Saudi Arabia, which is equipped with "Dongfeng Express", is not afraid.
The Saudi military immediately and urgently activated the combat readiness procedures at the Sulaiil base, and a number of "Dongfeng-3" missiles were transported to the launch base and reached the launch state in the shortest possible time.
With little hesitation, Saddam Hussein gave the order to withdraw his troops.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has not threatened militarily for more than 30 years.