Peace Archive - Robert Evans

Russia, which like China had earlier argued - in the face of U.S. refusal - for formal negotiations on a global agreement barring weaponry from space, hailed the Chinese shift and told the 65-nation forum it would be ready to join in.

Both powers, known to be deeply concerned over U.S. plans for a "Star Wars Mark II" National Missile Defense system (NMD), said they hoped the move would clear the way for talks on space arms and other disarmament issues to get under way soon. Just a week ago in an obvious reference to NMD they told the CD, currently holding a three-months summer session, that the danger of "weaponization" of outer space was growing and had to be tackled promptly.

" . . ."Perhaps they feel that there are some signs the Bush administration is beginning to realize that it needs friends and that it cannot continue to pursue a unilateral path on all issues," said one envoy, who declined to be identified."
There was no immediate response from the United States. Its envoy did not take the floor at Thursday's session of the United Nations-sponsored CD - where some of the major disarmament treaties of the Cold War period were negotiated.

Under the administration of President George W. Bush, Washington has insisted that it must have the right to deploy a system like NMD to defend itself against "rogue states" and terrorists who might acquire ballistic missiles.

RETURN FOR HELP

But senior CD diplomats said China and Russia appeared to be stepping up pressure on the United States to at least talk about the issue - perhaps in return for their help in the global "war against terrorism" and in the North Korean crisis.

"Perhaps they feel that there are some signs the Bush administration is beginning to realize that it needs friends and that it cannot continue to pursue a unilateral path on all issues," said one envoy, who declined to be identified.

Making the announcement, China's ambassador Hu Xiaodi told the CD yesterday that his country was demonstrating "immense flexibility" in dropping its demand for formal negotiations on a space arms pact, which have been in the air for a decade.

The decision had been taken to try to break the six-year deadlock in the CD, where the last pact completed was a wide-ranging nuclear test ban treaty in 1996 and which has since been the scene of diplomatic squabbling.

Discussions on space weapons, under a new program proposed by five former CD chairmen, would take place alongside talks on nuclear disarmament, on banning production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, and on how to guarantee non-nuclear states would not be targets for nuclear attacks.

--
Posted for educational and research purposes only, ~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~
See also http://nucnews.net
NucNews Links and Archives