China: February 3, 2005

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A Chinese B-737 airliner has been seen fitted with a military grade radome. B-737s are popular aircraft for use as military reconnaissance aircraft. However, American civilian air transports exported to China, like the B-737, are not supposed to be converted to military use. But China has a long history of flouting these agreements. This lawlessness in China also extends to commercial agreements, which has caused trouble for Chinese manufacturers and exporters. While the commercial firms are under a lot of pressure to respect trade rules and patents, Chinese military manufacturers are protected by military secrecy. But there are so many Chinese violations that there are regular sightings of such illegal activity.