Posted on 12/18/2003 12:32:29 PM PST by bdeaner
Bush's WMD Interception Initiative 'Accelerating'
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
December 18, 2003
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - President Bush's initiative aimed at intercepting and seizing non-conventional weapons in transit is steadily winning more international support, with another five countries in Asia and the West joining the original line-up of 11.
Two days of talks on the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) in Washington ended with participating nations agreeing to hold six more joint exercises during the first half of next year.
Joining the 11-nation core group at the "operational experts" meeting were Turkey, Singapore, Canada, Denmark and Norway, John Bolton, the top U.S. diplomat for arms control, said in a statement late Wednesday.
Bolton said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had both addressed the participants, to re-emphasize the president's commitment to the program.
The ongoing series of exercises will sharpen the skills necessary for authorities to intercept illegal weapons cargoes being transported by sea, air or overland.
The PSI, first proposed by Bush last May, aims to prevent rogue states - in particular North Korea and Iran - and terrorist groups from selling, buying or facilitating the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, delivery systems, and related materials.
Four series of exercises have so far been held involving various combinations of the original 11 members - the U.S., Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher this week described the initiative as "ongoing and accelerating."
Turkey's participation at the latest meeting came as a surprise. Earlier this month, Bolton said that Canada, Denmark, Norway and Singapore would attend the meeting, but Turkey was not mentioned at the time.
With recent nuclear developments in Iran, as well as concerns about WMD being smuggled out of former Soviet states, Turkey's strategic location - bordering on Iran, and with lengthy Mediterranean and Black Sea coastlines - makes it an important potential PSI player.
It's not clear at this stage whether the five latest participants at the Washington meeting will be joining the PSI coalition or merely cooperating with it.
After a previous meeting, in London last October, a chairman's statement said the Washington talks would be attended by "a number of countries, beyond the original 11 participants, that support the PSI principles and have concrete contributions to make to PSI activities."
In response to queries about its participation, Singapore foreign affairs spokeswoman Tai Li-lian told CNSNews.com her government's representatives would "use the meeting to learn more about the operational and legal aspects of PSI."
"Singapore supports the principles of PSI as part of our overall effort to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism," she added, without specifying whether Singapore was formally joining the initiative.
According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the PSI nations will be seeking "new members among coastal states in Asia and the Middle East, as well as in nations whose flags are commonly used as flags of convenience because of their lenient safety and environmental regulations."
China's participation would be particularly significant. As the IISS pointed out, "the air routes of greatest importance - between North Korea and Iran and between North Korea and Pakistan - travel through Chinese airspace."
Beijing has, however, given no public signal that it is prepared to cooperate, on the contrary expressing concern that the PSI could have consequences for regional security, possibly even provoking a clash with North Korea.
Privately, it could be a different matter, however.
In an interview last month with "Arms Control Today," Bolton said the Chinese had told the U.S. "very clearly [that] they support the concept behind the initiative, and that they're prepared to engage in joint activities dealing with WMD trafficking."
When the State Department first announced this week's talks, it said China would not attend but added that consultation with China about the PSI was continuing.
PSI exercises already held since last September include three maritime interdiction exercises - led by Australia in the Coral Sea, and Spain and France respectively in the Mediterranean - and an air interception command post exercise led by Britain, in London.
Planned for the next six months are three air interception exercises, led by Italy, France and Germany; a U.S.-led maritime interdiction exercise in the Arabian Sea; and a ground interdiction exercise led by Poland.
If it's goodenough for Patrick, it's goodenough for me.
Can't be. The RATs tell us he only acts in a unilateral fashion.
Sounds like that wicked feller, Pres. Bush, is trying to internationalize this conflict.
He's doing something - something the hand-wringers of the left can't claim.
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