http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headlines/010119/world/afp/Dark_clouds_hang_over_UN_disarmament_talks.html

GENEVA, Jan 19 (AFP) - Fundamental differences between the United States and China over the militarisation of space are expected to hamper United Nations disarmament talks here next week, according to diplomatic sources.

The 66 members of the UN Conference on Disarmament -- The international community's multilateral negotiating forum -- are trying to agree on the non-military use of space and a treaty banning fissile material, as well as general disarmament. Its annual disarmament session begins in Geneva, the UN's European headquarters, on January 23.

But sources Chinese opposition to Washington's idea of developing an anti-missile missile system in space, dubbed the National Missile Defense (NMD), is likely to quickly re-emerge.

The team of incoming US President George W.Bush is expected to back, even more than the outgoing Clinton administration, the American wish to equip itself with such a system, devised in the 1970s by Donald Rumsfeld, nominated by Bush as his defence secretary.

The Chinese have always firmly rejected any militarisation of space and have gone all-out to counter the Us rationale on the matter.

"There is no reason for them to change their attitude, all the more so with the new Republican administration and Donald Rumsfeld in the defence post," sources said.

Failure by the Conference to get over the US-China hurdle has also blocked other agenda items.

No progress has been made, for example, on the banning of land mines, despite the Ottawa convention of December 1997. Neither have things advanced on security guarantees by nuclear countries to non-nuclear countries, or on reforming the Conference itself.

Still, despite rhetoric to the contrary, the continued blockage of negotiations lends an advantage to nuclear nations, both the official ones like the Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States and the unofficial ones such as Pakistan and India.

While disagreement reigns and no "cut-off" treaty banning the production of nuclear weapons is agreed, these nations are able to continue to equip themselves with the fissile materials used to produce nuclear arms.

China can go on boosting its nuclear arsenal, whose importance could dissuade the Americans from pursuing the development of the NMD.

Meanwhile, the big losers of the blockage are those in the Conference who dream of a general disarmament to the benefit of general economic development.

Losing out too are those who hope to convince the large producing countries and users of mines such as the United States, Russia and China to sign up to the Ottawa convention whose effectiveness is more moral than practical since it has no binding power.

"The year looks black for the Conference", the sources commented although they say they remain convinced of the need of such a forum within the UN system.