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ABM Treaty Concerns Security Interests of All Countries, China Says
China Wednesday voiced is stance on the national missile defense (NMD) system and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty against the attempts to confuse the issues, saying that the treaty concerns "security interests of all the countries."
The clarification came as Hu Xiaodi, the Chinese ambassador on disarmament, was speaking to the First Committee of the General Assembly. The First Committee is in charge of disarmament and international security.
"There are still some different views on the ABM Treaty and NMD," Hu said, adding that a certain country "has spread all kinds of seemingly plausible but actually false views in an attempt to confuse the issue."
The Chinese delegation believes that it is necessary to use this opportunity to take a close look at these views so as to clarify the issue, he said.
The Chinese ambassador made the statement in response to an argument by some countries that the ABM Treaty and NMD are an issue mainly concerning the big powers such as the United States and Russia and they have little to do with other countries. It is also held that the implementation and revision of the ABM Treaty should be determined by the state parties to the treaty and that there should be no involvement of the First Committee on this issue.
"It is the view of the Chinese delegation that security has always been a mutual concept," he said. "In today's world, all countries find increasing common security interests and challenges."
The ABM Treaty, concluded in 1972 by the United States and the former Soviet Union, constitutes a cornerstone of the global strategic balance and international security.
"As a cornerstone of the global strategic balance, the ABM's significance and implications far exceed the bilateral relations between the United States and Russia and concern the security interests of all the countries," he said.
"Should the NMD be deployed, the results achieved over many years in bilateral and multilateral disarmament and arms control will go down the drain," he said.
"Furthermore, once the global strategic balance is upset, the tendency towards unilateralism in international affairs can only increase rather than decrease," he said. "The global as well as regional security will also have to face new uncertainties."
"When this occurs, all countries, big or small, strong or weak, state parties or non-state parties to the ABM Treaty, will feel its impact," he said.
"It is therefore in the common interest of the entire international community to safeguard the integrity and validity of the ABM Treaty and urge the relevant country to abandon its NMD plan," he said.
"Each and every country has an obligation and duty to do its part to further this goal," he said. "Likewise, as an important forum on international security and disarmament, this committee ought to attach great importance to and consider this important issue, so as to halt the above mentioned negative development as well as its grave consequences."
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