The advanced HQ-22 ground-to-air system was delivered last month by twelve Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft, in what is believed to be the largest supply of Chinese airborne weapons in Europe. Although Serbia formally seeks to join the European Union, it is mainly armed with Russian and Chinese weapons, including T-72 tanks, MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-35 assault helicopters and drones. In 2020, US officials warned Belgrade not to buy HQ-22 missile systems, the export version of which is known as the FK-3. They said that if Serbia really wants to join the EU and other Western alliances, it must align its military equipment with Western standards. The Chinese missile system has been widely compared to the US Patriot and the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system, although it has a shorter range than the more advanced S-300s. Serbia is the first Chinese missile operator in Europe. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the end of a weapons show at a military airport near Belgrade that Chinese missiles, as well as other recently delivered military equipment, posed no threat to anyone and represented only a “strong deterrent”. “We will no longer allow ourselves to be a punching bag for anyone,” Vucic said, apparently referring to the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia over the bloody crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatists in 1999. Serbia, which was at war with its neighbors in the 1990s, does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, which was declared in 2008. It still has cold relations with NATO members Croatia and Montenegro, as well as Bosnia. whose separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attended the military exercise on Saturday. Vuτςiτς said that Serbia is also negotiating the purchase of French Dessault Rafale multi-role aircraft, as well as British Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. He said only “political obstacles” could prevent the purchase of Western aircraft. There are widespread concerns that Russia could push its ally Serbia into an armed conflict with its neighbors in an attempt to at least partially divert public attention from the war in Ukraine. Although Serbia voted in favor of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s bloody attacks on Ukraine, it has refused to take part in international sanctions against its allies in Moscow or to directly criticize the apparent atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
title: “Serbia Demonstrates Chinese Missiles Amid Concerns In The Balkans Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Barbara Davis”
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press April 30, 2022, 8:03 p.m. • 3 minutes reading Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email this article BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia publicly unveiled a recently delivered Chinese anti-aircraft missile system on Saturday, raising concerns in the West and some of Serbia’s neighbors that weapons accumulation in the Balkans could threaten the region. The advanced HQ-22 ground-to-air system was delivered last month by twelve Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft, in what is believed to be the largest supply of Chinese airborne weapons in Europe. Although Serbia formally seeks to join the European Union, it is mainly armed with Russian and Chinese weapons, including T-72 tanks, MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-35 assault helicopters and drones. In 2020, US officials warned Belgrade not to buy HQ-22 missile systems, the export version of which is known as the FK-3. They said that if Serbia really wants to join the EU and other Western alliances, it must align its military equipment with Western standards. The Chinese missile system has been widely compared to the US Patriot and the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system, although it has a shorter range than the more advanced S-300s. Serbia is the first Chinese missile operator in Europe. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the end of a weapons show at a military airport near Belgrade that Chinese missiles, as well as other recently delivered military equipment, posed no threat to anyone and represented only a “strong deterrent”. “We will no longer allow ourselves to be a punching bag for anyone,” Vucic said, apparently referring to the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia over the bloody crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatists in 1999. Serbia, which was at war with its neighbors in the 1990s, does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, which was declared in 2008. It still has cold relations with NATO members Croatia and Montenegro, as well as Bosnia. whose separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attended the military exercise on Saturday. Vuτςiτς said that Serbia is also negotiating the purchase of French Dessault Rafale multi-role aircraft, as well as British Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. He said only “political obstacles” could prevent the purchase of Western aircraft. There are widespread concerns that Russia could push its ally Serbia into an armed conflict with its neighbors in an attempt to at least partially divert public attention from the war in Ukraine. Although Serbia voted in favor of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s bloody attacks on Ukraine, it has refused to take part in international sanctions against its allies in Moscow or to directly criticize the apparent atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
