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5 April 2002 |
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http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-02j.html |
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Participants of an international conference on disarmament in Beijing called for the international community to act immediately to prevent the potential danger of arms being used in outer space. "Outer space has become a widely-concerned issue at the conference," said Liu Jieyi, director of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Liu said an early conclusion of an international legal instrument on the prevention of outer space weaponization would enhance the common security of all countries. "A Disarmament Agenda for the 21st Century," an international conference sponsored by the United Nations (UN) and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, ended Thursday in Beijing. Some 40 senior governmental officials and experts from more than 20 countries attended the meeting. Participants unanimously agreed it is essential to further enhance international co-operation, maintain international arms control and a non-proliferation system, and push forward the multilateral process of arms control, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. Participants had in-depth discussions on major topics including the role of the UN in the sphere of disarmament, the prevention of the arms race in outer space, missile proliferation, nuclear disarmament, military revolution and conventional arms disarmament. Participants stressed that unilateralism is not only of no help, but also a trigger to the further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Concluding the conference, concerns were raised about the US "go-it-alone" trend. The US was accused of withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), and vetoing the Biological Weapons Convention and the International Criminal Court and its Nuclear Posture Review, which was revealed last month. Source: China Daily - main text is unedited from CD's English translation as published |
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4 April 2002 |
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http://sg.news.yahoo.com/reuters/asia-98352.html |
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BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States came under fire from experts at a disarmament conference in Beijing on Thursday over a Pentagon nuclear policy review and Washington's unilateral approach to global arms issues. But a U.S. official said the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), reported to describe U.S. contingency plans to aim nuclear weapons at China and other countries, has been misconstrued and U.S. commitment to arms control was solid. The leaked Pentagon report raised the possibility of Washington developing new types of nuclear weapons and using them against several nations including Russia, Iraq, North Korea and China, U.S. media reports said. A string of nations slammed the report including China, which has called it a pretext for the United States to resume nuclear tests and develop new nuclear arms to flex its military muscle. "The NPR opens up a new vision of darkness I think for the 21st century in terms of nuclear disarmament," Ron McCoy, chair of a Malaysian non-governmental organisation lobbying for the prevention of nuclear war, told a news conference. U.S. State Department Asian adviser Mark Groombridge defended U.S. policy, saying Washington supported peace and disarmament but viewed nations branded as part of an "axis of evil" as a threat. "As long as Iraq and North Korea continue to remain in violation of the non-proliferation treaty, it does not make sense for the United States to unilaterally disarm its nuclear force posture," Groombridge told the news conference. Some delegates also criticised the United States for its reluctance to adopt a new global covenant aimed at preventing an outer space arms race. Groombridge said the United States did not see the need to alter existing agreements and defended U.S. activities in space. Those comments drew fire from Lloyd Axworthy, former Canadian foreign minister, another delegate at the three day conference organised by the United Nations and the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "A majority (of delegates) though think there should be a new regime," said Axworthy, head of a Vancouver-based think-tank. "What the issue comes down to is, is the existing system sufficient or do you need to pre-empt by establishing very clear rules against any further (military) expansion," he said. The use of space for military use is a key point of disagreement between the United States and China. China's Vice Foreign Minister Qiao Zonghuai on Wednesday called for a global covenant to prevent an outer space arms race, state media said.
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