China Tuesday declined to comment on reports of receiving a pair of Black Hawk helicopter engines allegedly illegally exported by two South Koreans.
"I am not so clear about it. You may ask this question to the US side," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao told journalists when asked to comment on the issue.
According to US media reports, two South Koreans illegally shipped a pair of Black Hawk helicopter engines to China and ordered four more, each worth a million dollars, before they were caught.
Kwonhwan Park and Sung-Ryul Chun are accused of using front companies to buy the equipment in violation of the US Federal Arms Export Control Act, the report said.
The two men allegedly paid 2.1 million US Dollars for the engines in 2002 and submitted false documents to the US state department saying the engines were bound for the armies of Malaysia and South Korea. The engines were diverted instead to China, according to an indictment.
The S70 helicopter engine is manufactured by General Electric for use in Sikorsky's Black Hawk helicopters, used widely by the US armed forces.
