Posted on 07/14/2005 2:39:38 PM PDT by Stellar Dendrite
China is prepared to use nuclear weapons against the US if it is attacked by Washington during a confrontation over Taiwan, according to a senior Chinese military official.
“If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons,” Zhu Chenghu, a major general in the People's Liberation Army, said at an official briefing.
Mr Zhu, who is also a professor at China's National Defence University, was speaking at a function for foreign journalists organised, in part, by the Chinese government. He added that China's definition of its territory includes warships and aircraft.
“If the Americans are determined to interfere [then] we will be determined to respond,” Mr Zhu said. “We Chinese will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xian. Of course the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds. . . of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese.” Mr Zhu is a self-acknowledged “hawk” who has warned previously that China could strike the US with long-range missiles. But his threat to use nuclear weapons in a conflict over Taiwan is the most specific by a senior Chinese official in nearly a decade.
Rick Fisher, a former senior US congressional official and an authority on the Chinese military, said the specific nature of the threat “is a new addition to China's public discourse”.
China's official doctrine has called for no first use of nuclear weapons since its first atomic test in 1964. But Mr Zhu is not the first Chinese official to refer to the possibility of using such weapons first in a conflict over Taiwan.
Chas Freeman, a former US assistant secretary of defence, said in 1999 that a PLA official had told him China could respond in kind to a nuclear strike by the US in the event of a conflict with Taiwan.
“In the end you care more about Los Angeles than you do about Taipei,” Mr Freeman quoted this official as saying. The official is believed to have been Xiong Guangkai, now the PLA's deputy chief of general staff.
The rationale for the new threats is unclear. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comment.
Mr Zhu, who has risen from the rank of colonel over the past five years, insisted he was expressing his personal views, and that they did not represent the policy of the Chinese government. Nor was he anticipating war between China and the US.
But he said that, because China did not have the capability to fight a conventional war against the US, the threat to escalate might be the only way to stop a war.
His comments could provide insight into the thinking among some in the PLA amid growing anxiety in Washington about its capabilities. Last month, Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, voiced concern about China's military build-up.
Additional reporting by Edward Alden in Washington
And think about how much more equipment we could buy if our costs to get it were as low as they are in the PRC?
NO. Thank you for remembering.
The Freep Folk shouldn't forget...Billy Boy gave away the technology for the missiles that carry those Shanghai nukes.
It's so disheartening to think our very own Pres. did that to us.
When I read about our "Trade" with china etc etc I sometimes think I'm in a 1960's zwilight zone episode where I have awoken in a parrallel universe and everything is topsy turvey.
Agreed. But it was the greed of the entire fedgov that allowed China to gain Most Favored Nation status which is exactly what is feeding their kitty.
Reagan had the ba!!s to tell the rest of the fedgov. "He!! No!"
When it comes to China some conservatives seem like weak little school girls.
----
No. They're just money-grubbing whores; capitalists on steriods, where nothing else matters to them except making money.
President Bush's Uncle (41's brother) was just head of the US/China Chamber of Commerce.
Our nation is creating a monster.
Sun Zhu says if your enemy is superior irritate him.
I had 3 threads up in my Firefox....Posted that reply on the wrong thread!
Simple.
China -----> $$$$$$$ -----> Fedgov !!!
Talking about the here and now. I'm sure the DF-41 will give them longer range in the future. But a handful of missiles and warheads is a long, long way from being able to piss on the big boys shoes.
just saying... if you can send a man to space, you can drop a bomb anywhere in the world.
This is really the most important point.
Many Chinese know that in order to continue on the path of economic reform, they need peace and stability and won't give in to generals like Zhu. They know that strength comes through technological developement in a stable environment.
But I also think some Americans know that too and is looking for every way possible to add fuel to Zhu's fire so that a conflict can occur. Ya know, the "take em while we still can" mentality.
Will you be able to persuade 30+ million Mexicans, who don't give a rat's a** about America other than it's a place where they can do as they please and nobody will touch them. They have more freedoms here, as illegals, than in their own native country.
Don't start the negotiations until I get back from Wal-Mart.
Most definitely. The exact reason the greedy bastards gave them MFN status. For now, they're reaping some of those same benefits but not nearly to the extent of the PRC.
Excellent point SS.
This works too.
The N-Weapon ?
Jesse Jackson ain't gonna like that.........
Last year, China had a trade surplus of $32 BILLION with the U.S. If that keeps up, it won't be long before it is no longer a 'someday weapon'.
Neutron bomb, please! Physically San Francisco and the Bay Area are gorgeous - It's just the people there that...
Shame to lay waste to that scenery.
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