Sha, director general of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks during a press briefing concerning the NMD issue.

He said China does not want to see a confrontation between China and the US over the NMD issue nor an arms race between the two countries.

"We are against NMD, not because we intend to threaten the security of the US with our nuclear weapons," he said. "We just hope that the existing mutual deterrence between the two countries can be preserved."

He stressed that China's nuclear arsenal is the smallest and least advanced among the five nuclear powers, and yet China is the first to pursue the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.

"China will not allow its legitimate means of self-defense to be weakened or even taken away by anyone in anyway," he said. " This is one of the most important aspects of China's national security."

He said it is no news that China is opposed to the US NMD program. For two basic reasons: "firstly, we don't believe that NMD is in the interest of international peace and security as a whole; secondly, it will compromise China's security."

The director general stressed that the US NMD program will have a series of far-reaching negative consequences for the international security environment.

The US NMD program will jeopardize the global strategic balance and stability, and undermine the mutual trust and cooperation among major powers, he said.

The significance of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty lies in the fact that, by prohibiting the deployment of nation-wide missile defense systems, it has maintained the strategic balance between the two nuclear superpowers, and by extension, has maintained the strategic balance among all the nuclear-weapon states. The US deployment and possible deployment of NMD will disrupt the existing strategic equilibrium among major powers, and jeopardize the security interest of other countries.

"This will undoubtedly arouse suspicion and mistrust among major powers, hampering their coordination and cooperation in international security affairs," he said.

The US NMD program will hamper the international arms control and disarmament process and even trigger a new round of arms race.

As the only remaining superpower, the US already possesses the largest and most advanced arsenal in the world, nuclear and conventional. In addition, the US pursues a nuclear deterrence policy based on the first use of nuclear weapons. Under such circumstances, NMD will become a multiplier of the US strategic offensive force.

The NMD program is, in essence, an US program of unilateral nuclear expansion, which harbors the inherent danger of triggering an arms race at a higher level. To be specific, it may start off an arms race in outer space, and may also extend the arms race from offensive weapons to defensive weapons, he said.

Sha said the US NMD program will undermine the international non-proliferation regime and efforts, though the US claims that its development of missile defense systems is intended to counter the increasing threats posed by missile proliferation.

"I for one, and I don't think I'm alone, do not share the US assessment of the missile threats", Sha said, adding that the US has at least "over-exaggerated" the missile threats from the so-called "countries of concern".

"In my view, the development of NMD is tantamount to 'drinking poison to quench thirst'", said the director-general, quoting a Chinese proverb.

NMD is not a solution to missile proliferation but will only undercut the very foundation of the international non-proliferation regime, and even stimulate further proliferation of missiles, he said.

In addition, Sha said the US NMD program will increase the weight of the military factor in international relations in detriment to international peace and security.

"The international debate around the NMD issue is, in essence, about what kind of international order should be established, and a choice between unipolar and multipolar world," Sha said, adding that more and more people have come to realize that the real motive behind the US NMD program is to seek its own absolute security.

Once the NMD is deployed, whether it is effective or not, it would further strengthen the US tendency towards unilateralism, and the tendency to use or threaten to use force, said the director-general.

"As a result, military factor will play a bigger role in international relations, and huge amount of financial resources and materials that would otherwise be devoted to economic development will be diverted to arms buildup," Sha said.

"Under such circumstances, how can a country enjoy real security? How can the world remain stable," he asked.

Sha further pointed out that the implementation of NMD program by the US will not only undermine global strategic balance and stability, but also disrupt efforts for peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Moreover, the US also intends to deploy the Theater Missile Defence (TMD) system in the region," he said.

Though research and development of TMD itself may not necessarily constitute a violation of the ABM treaty, "the crucial question is how large is the scale and what are the nature and function of the TMD that the US is preparing to deploy in Asia", the director-general said, adding that if this TMD can be used as part of NMD and constitute the front deployment of NMD in the region, its negative impact on regional security and stability will be no less than the NMD itself.

(Xinhua 03/15/2001)