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China warns of possible arms race
May 2, 2001
Web posted at: 6:03 p.m. EDT (2203 GMT)
In this story:
Violates treaty
21st century threat
Caution from ally
North Korea
BEIJING, China -- China has warned that U.S. plans for a missile defense
system (NMD) could lead to a possible arms race.
China's official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday slammed President George
W. Bush's call to replace the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (ABM) -- between
Washington and Moscow -- with a new missile system.
Bush says the treaty needs to be replaced with a
missile system that protects the United States and
its allies from attacks by what Washington calls
rogue nations or accidental launches.
China has repeatedly voiced strong opposition to
the missile defense system, partly out of fears it
will be extended to include Japan and Taiwan,
which it views as a renegade province.
"The U.S. missile defense plan has violated the
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, will destroy the
balance of international security forces and could
cause a new arms race," Xinhua said.
Bush has remained vague on key aspects of his
initiative such as what kind of missile defense
system he would field and when, how much it
would cost and the depth of arms cuts.
Violates treaty
Although there was no official reaction from the
Chinese Foreign Ministry to Bush's call, Xinhua
restated China's long-held position that the plan
violated the treaty, which was the "cornerstone of
global strategic balance and stability."
Bush's plans for a NMD threaten to further
destabilize fragile U.S.-China relations, already
rocked by a collision between a U.S. spy plane
and a Chinese jet fighter, U.S. arms sales to
Taiwan, and Bush's pledges to help the island
defend itself.
Beijing fears the NMD system will negate its own
modest nuclear arsenal and that a regional
version, known as Theatre Missile Defence
(TMD), will be used to shield Taiwan and thus
embolden pro-independence forces.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry declined to comment
on what it said was an "internal issue" of the
United States.
21st century threat
Xinhua quoted unidentified analysts as saying
NMD would "also threaten world peace and
security in the 21st century."
Meanwhile a China expert at Singapore's Institute
of Defense and Strategic Studies has said the
move could prompt China to boost its arsenal.
"The Chinese will probably try to build up their nuclear strike force, which will
not be a stabilizing thing in this part of the world," said C.P. Chung.
Back in March -- before the spy plane collision -- China adopted a more flexible
stance on NMD with its top arms control diplomat saying Beijing was willing to
discuss the issue with Washington.
Sha Zukang, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of
Arms Control, also indicated for the first time then that Beijing drew a distinction
between NMD and TMD.
Caution from ally
Japan, an ally of the United States, was more cautions on Wednesday in its
response.
Japanese officials said they would study Bush's ambitious plans and may even
ask him to reconsider.
While Japan has refrained from voicing strong support for the NMD system in
the past, it is studying with Washington a variant of the system, aimed at
shielding U.S. troops in Asia and its allies.
Tokyo moved to study the system after North Korea launched a ballistic missile
over Japan in August 1998.
Top government spokesman Yasuo Fukuda said that while he understood the
U.S. plan, if the move triggers similar expansions of arms across the world,
Tokyo may need to discuss the issue with the White House.
"The fact that the U.S., our ally, plans to deploy such a system may be all right,
but we must avoid a situation in which such systems expand throughout the
world," Kyodo news agency quoted Fukuda as saying in an interview with
domestic media.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is due to visit Japan early next week
on a mission to gain Japan's support for Bush's initiative.
China, which was invaded by Japanese forces in the first half of the 20th
century, has repeatedly warned against closer security ties between Japan and
the United States.
Tokyo and Washington boosted their military alliance in 1998 to its highest level
since the end of World War II, setting off fears in China that the pact was
designed to protect Taiwan in the event of Chinese military action against the
island.
North Korea
While Communist North Korea has remained silent thus far, it is expected to
come out strongly against the plan, perhaps using the issue as leverage in talks
with Washington and Seoul, aimed at unifying the divided peninsula.
Bush moved to calm concern on the peninsula by calling South Korean President
Kim Dae-jung.
In a 15-minute telephone call with Bush, President Kim praised contacts with
Asian nations as "desirable," a spokesman for Kim said.
"I hope that through this process, the U.S. will contribute to peace and stability
in the world," the spokesman, Park Joon-young, quoted Kim as telling Bush.
The U.S. administration plans to send a delegation to Asia this month, led by
Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state.
Australia was the most positive nation, saying that it shared U.S. concerns over
potential missile threats from some governments.
A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia would
allow the use of joint military bases such as the Pine Gap facility in central
Australia for missile shield communications. |
