US, Czechs to sign radar deal

The Czech Republic and the US will sign a treaty tomorrow to build a missile defence radar on Czech soil despite opposition at home and in Russia.

Washington wants to build the radar southwest of Prague and put 10 interceptor rockets in neighbouring Poland as a part of a defence shield it says will protect the US and European allies from threats from "rogue states" such as Iran.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will sign the deal in Prague, but the plan faces some hurdles.

Talks with Poland have so far failed over Warsaw's demands for US finance to help modernise its army, and the Czech treaty will face opposition in Parliament.

The Czech government said the shield would offer further protection on the top of the country's Nato and EU membership.

"Missile technology is spreading around the world," Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said. "The threat is not totally acute, but one has to prepare in time."

Russia sees the shield as a threat, and has said it will aim its nuclear missiles at central Europe if the shield is deployed. The US says the 10 rockets are no match for Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Analysts say that bases in the former Soviet bloc would raise US security interest in the region at a time when Russia grows more assertive about its role on the global scene.

"While Washington's concerns about Iran are real, it's also true that, in setting up these missile defence components, the US will have a direct stake in the security of central and eastern Europe," said Alexander Kliment, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a US political risk consultancy.

Disputes over the radar have alienated many Czechs, wary of any foreign military presence after the Soviet invasion in 1968 and the following two decades of occupation.

An opinion poll last month showed 68 per cent of Czechs were against the shield, while 24 per cent supported it.

Anti-radar activists say the radar will make the Czech Republic a target and undermine its security.

The leftist opposition in Parliament has channelled the public discontent, and ratification is uncertain.

The three-party Cabinet has just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house and several backbenchers have said they would vote against. The government must win over several independents.

"I am convinced that responsibility will prevail and a majority will stand behind (the radar)," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra told Czech TV.

The Green Party, a junior government partner, says ratification should be delayed until a new US administration takes over from President George W. Bush early next year.