Sudan Receives an Armor Upgrade

In recent years, people have noted the appearance of new hardware in Sudan's arsenal. International outrage over Darfur notwithstanding, the government has had no problems in obtaining effective heavy military equipment through the export market. Now, reports have been coming in about a new tank, the Chinese ZTZ 96 (AKA Type 96) main battle tank. While not the absolute cutting edge in Chinese armor, the Type 96 equips the bulk of China's modernized forces. These are not tired Cold War hand-me-downs; the Type 96 can outmatch virtually any armored vehicle in the region (with the exception of Egypt's fleet of M1A1s). Even as Sudan continues to draw the ire of Western activists, it has quietly upgraded its ability to intimidate and bully its neighbors.

The framework of sanctions created for Iraq in the 1990's was specifically designed to degrade Iraq's existing weapons capability and prevent Saddam from acquiring new weapons systems. Unfortunately for Saddam, he didn't have a devoted supplier. In Sudan, China's export industry has a cash cow, and Beijing will never allow the UN to levy the types of sanctions that might make Khartoum commit to a peaceful solution.