Posted on 06/29/2004 7:42:27 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
China on Tuesday said it was not in favour of welcoming India and Pakistan into the five-member exclusive nuclear club and hoped the international community would stick to principles of Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty as well as the spirit of the UN Security Council resolution passed soon after the South Asian nuclear tests of May 1998.
"The international community should stick to the spirit and principles enshrined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as the consensus reached in the UN Security Council resolution 1172," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, Shen Guofang, told a group of Indian journalists in Beijing.
"In our region, we have seen many wars and conflicts, which have been either due to historical reasons or mutual non-confidence. So we believe that peace and development should be the main principles and policies for the countries in this region," he said.
Shen said this when asked to comment on New Delhi and Islamabad's quest to be recognised as nuclear powers along with Britain, China, France, the Untied States and Russia.
Shen also gave a similar response when asked for China's reaction to Union External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh's statement that India, Pakistan and China should have a 'common nuclear doctrine'.
"On principle, we oppose the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Our consistent position is for a comprehensive ban and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons. The NPT and as well as the UNSC resolution 1172 should be our guiding principle," Shen said.
The UNSC resolution 1172, passed soon after the South Asian nuclear tests, had, among other things, condemned the tests as well as urged India and Pakistan to immediately stop their nuclear weapon development programmes, to refrain from weaponisation or from deployment of nuclear weapons.
The resolution, passed unanimously, had also reaffirmed the Council's full commitment to and the crucial importance of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty as the cornerstones of the international regime on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and as essential foundations for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament.
Shen also welcomed the India-Pakistan peace initiatives and hoped that the dialogue would lead to the normalisation of bilateral ties.
"We welcome the improvement in India-Pakistan relationship as well as the confidence building measures. We particularly welcome the confidence building measures to enhance the security relationship between your two countries," he said.
Replying to questions on China's response to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a step championed by the United States, Shen said that though China does not oppose the move, it has some concerns and would like to have more dialogues on this issue.
"In principle we are opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and we support any plan aimed at checking proliferation," he said.
Didn't China help Pakistan in its nuclear programme?
What do you mean?
We can't do that, they'll cut off our supply of goods and destroy our econony...< /somewhat sarcasm >
It's a fait accompli - they've got nukes and delivery systems. Saying that they are not members of the "Nuclear Club" is ignoring the obvious, and certainly won't help you if they decide to use on on you!
What I continue to hope for is that India will realize she has more in common with the other Anglophone countries than with Russia or Iran. That would allow a major geopolitical realignment whereby the New Alliance will be the USA, Japan, Taiwan, India, UK, Israel, Italy (maybe - but with the recent election, I must note a caution on this), S. Korea (again, a note of caution) and Chile. The Trans-Eurasian Axis of Evil are the DPRK, the PRC, Iran, Syria, and a few others. Fence sitters such as the CIS, most of the ASEAN countries, Old Europe, certain quarters of "New Europe" and the many "non aligned" countries need to be challenged to join up or be the enemy.
Yep, I agree. We must jettison the naive anti Clausewitzian, globalist utopianism that was hatched in San Francisco in 1945. That is at the root of the pie crust treaties the West and no one else follows, meanwhile the Axis of Evil quietly arms and coordinates. The Axis is forming up with increasing strength with each passing day but we put on our Fukuyaman rose colored sunglasses and keep telling ourselves that great power geopolitics are dead, and that the New World Order is shaping the world into one that will see nothing but shopping malls at the ends of the earth with the occasional "rogue" nuisance to be policed. If only that were true... Von Clausewitz laughs heartily, and those who continue, as they have since the late 1800s, to work to discredit him, whistle past the graveyard.
Well, they pulled the rug out from under the last govt by granting Pak major ally status.
The voters, sick of the BJP kissing up to Uncle Sam, felt the BJP didn't get much from the USG, so they threw the BJP out.
And of course, the offer after 911 to decisively deal with the jihad state of Pak was spurned by Bush.
Things have changed. Literally, every foreign govt close to Bush is in trouble.
Even in England and Italy, the ruling party has taken body blows in recent local elections.
The great thing about the US economy is that our economic activity/GDP largely "circulates" within the country. Less than 10% of our economy is export-based unlike China's which is export-dependent. The US could theoretically "withstand" an import cut from Chinese goods. We could buy cheap goods from other countries like India. BUT, unfortunately for the US, China 'kinda' keeps our national debt in check by buying large sums of US Treasury. So if China unloads/sells them in retaliation, it could spell trouble.
That's odd, most everything I see is made, assembled, or manufactured in some other country...mostly China.
On the flip side, 40% of the GDP of china is due to exports. If they let inflation go unchecked... ugh.
plus the Chinese banking system is shot full of holes
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