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Australian Labor Party Against Developing NMD
A Labor government would advise the United States that it should not develop the National Missile Defence (NMD) system, Australia's opposition Labor leader Kim Beazley said Tuesday.
US President George W. Bush's proposed Missile Defence System could lead to an arms build-up, Beazley said.
"Our advice would be that this system should not proceed," Beazley told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio.
Developing the system would also mean scrapping the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty which had been a cornerstone of international stability for decades, Beazley said.
Alliance with the United States through the ANZUS (Australia-New Zealand-US) Treaty did not mean backing every American strategy, Beazley said.
Australian involvement in the missile defence was likely to be minimal unless it chose to become more deeply involved, Beazley said.
Australia is expected to hold a general election by the end of this year and Beazley had said the Labor is united and ready to govern.
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