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2000
~ 1999
Ballistic Missile
Defense Organization
[
News ] [
Papers ]
China Blasts U.S. Missile
Proposal
(AP, Sept. 14, 2000) China urged disarmament negotiators Thursday to consider
the ``grave consequences'' of U.S. plans for a national missile defense
system, dismissing President Clinton's deferral of a decision to deploy it.
U.S. diplomats rejected the Chinese comments, suggesting that China and
others are using objections to the NMD as a smoke screen to create ``utter
paralysis'' blocking disarmament negotiations.
China Applauds
Clinton NMD Decision As 'Rational'
(Reuters, Sep. 2, 2000) China applauded President Clinton Saturday as
rational for leaving it to his successor to decide whether to deploy a
national missile defense (NMD) system and made clear it hoped the plan would
die. Beijing trenchantly opposes U.S. plans for an NMD and a related Theater
Missile Defense (TMD) for Asia, saying it would spark a new arms race and
upset the world strategic balance.
Li Peng Attacks Missile
Shield Plan
(South China Morning Post, Aug. 31, 2000) After a lapse of eight years,
National People's Congress Chairman Li Peng yesterday returned to the United
Nations and hit out at a US plan to build a national missile defence shield,
promoted China's sovereignty over Taiwan and defended Beijing's commitment to
political reform.
China-Russia Pact Condemns U.S. Missile Shield Plan
(Reuters, July
18, 2000) Capping off a summit dominated by shared suspicions of U.S. motives
and resentment of American global influence, Jiang and Putin put in writing
their mutual antipathy to U.S. plans to build anti-missile defenses to
protect North America and Asia. The document also slammed U.S. plans to build
a TMD system in Asia, which China fears cover Taiwan. "The incorporation
of Taiwan into any foreign missile defense system is unacceptable and will
seriously undermine regional stability," it said.
Taiwan May Get Antimissile Technology
(Washington
Post, July 9, 2000) A senior U.S. official delivered bad news to China today,
saying Washington has not ruled out giving Taiwan advanced capabilities to
defend itself from Chinese missile attacks. "We don't rule out the
possibility that some time in the future Taiwan may have [theater missile
defense] capabilities," senior U.S. arms control adviser John Holum told
reporters, referring to the U.S.-proposed theater missile defense (TMD)
scheme for Asia.
40 U.S. China Experts Urge Delay on Antimissile
Plan
(New York
Times, June 29, 2000) A group of more than 40 American scholars on China and
former diplomats is urging President Clinton to delay a decision on whether
to build a national missile defense, arguing that the proposed system may do
more harm than good to American economic and military interests.
U.S. Soothes China Concerns Over Missile Defense
Plans
(AFP,
June 8, 2000) China should not be concerned over U.S. proposals for a missile
defense system aimed at protecting North America from attacks by
"rogue" states, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Non-Proliferation Robert Einhorn also
vehemently denied that the proposed National Missile Defense system would stimulate
an arms race in the region, in particular with China.
US 'Expects Mainland Missile Test'
(South
China Morning Post, June 8, 2000) The US forces, suspecting the mainland may
soon test-fire a Dongfeng-31, have strengthened surveillance of the
mainland's military moves, according to the report, which quoted sources at
Japan's Defence Agency. The newspaper said the mainland was expected to
test-fire the missile from a military base in Shanxi province to a desert
area in Xinjiang, in the northwest.
Taiwan Gets OK To Test Missiles
(Associated
Press, June 7, 2000) Taiwan has obtained permission from the United States to
test the U.S.-built Patriot missiles in the island, the first time the
missiles will be tested outside the United States, defense officials said
today. The Patriots, designed to intercept incoming missiles, are an
important part of Taiwan's defense against China's Dongfeng-31 – a
nuclear-capable missile that can reach as far as the western United States.
China Says U.S. Missile Shield Could Force an Arms
Buildup
(New York
Times, May 11, 2000) China's chief arms negotiator said today that the
American proposal to build an antimissile defensive shield posed an
unacceptable threat to China's security and could force Beijing to
significantly expand its own nuclear forces in response. The Chinese find it
hard to believe American claims that the proposed "national missile
defense" is intended only to counter threats from small
"rogue" states like North Korea.
Beijing Blasts 'Star Wars' Missile Plans
(Reuters,
Apr 25, 2000) China denounced the United States on Monday for seeking to
develop an anti-missile defence system, calling this another form of nuclear
armament. "Disarmament should be conducive to the enhancement of every
country's general security instead of becoming the instrument and means for a
few countries to strengthen their military superiority by weakening or
restricting other countries," Sha Zukang said.
Taiwan Asks U.S. for Better Missile Defenses
Against China
(New York
Times, April 1, 2000) On a mountaintop south of Taipei, a cluster of
American-made Patriot missile launchers, draped in camouflage netting, stands
pointed toward the Chinese mainland 130 miles away. Now, faced with China's
threats and its growing force of missiles pointed at the island, Taiwan's
military is campaigning for a big improvement of its missile defenses. The
island has put Washington in an uncomfortable position by asking to buy some
of the best American weaponry, including a new version of the Patriot, and a
decision is expected in the next few weeks.
US, Japan Vow to Continue Missile-Defence Study
(AFP,
Feb. 16, 2000) The United States and Japan agreed Wednesday to continue
research on a regional missile-defence system, despite some progress in
missile talks with North Korea. The United States and Japan launched research
last year on a "theater missile defence (TMD)" system to guard
against medium-range missiles by detecting them with satellites and shooting
them down with missiles.
China Lambastes US Anti-Missile Plan, Warns Against
Arms to Taiwan
(AFP, Feb. 6, 2000) China's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Guangya
launched a verbal attack Sunday on the US government for its plans to develop
a national system of anti-missile defence, saying this could provoke a new
arms race. He also warned countries against selling arms to Taiwan. Wang was
addressing a high-powered informal defence and security forum in Munich also
attended by US Defense Secretary William Cohen.
The US
National Missile Defense Program: Vital Shield or Modern-Day Maginot Line? By Gary Brown and Gary Klintworth
(Parliament Library of Australia, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group,
Dec. 5, 2000) If the US goes ahead with NMD, Australia may find itself caught
between, on the one hand, its commitment and obligations to the US as
guarantor of Australia's security and Australia's strategic interests in the
Asia-Pacific region, and indeed globally, and on the other hand, Australia's
budding new friendship with China. The dilemma may prove to be illusory
because, difficult as it might seem, the US may yet be able to persuade
Russia and China to accept its NMD proposal. But if it cannot, Australia will
face some difficult choices.
East
Asia Needs Balance, and Balance Means Missile Defense By Robyn Lim
(International Herald Tribune, Dec. 21, 2000) China and the United States
have a growing collision of strategic interest over Taiwan. China has
strategic ambition, while Japan has strategic anxieties. East Asia's future will turn on whether Japan and China continue to
believe that the United States will guarantee Japan's security. The Bush
administration's priority should be to develop Theater Missile Defenses to
protect Japan (and U.S. forces based there) from the growing threat of
Chinese and North Korean missiles. At stake is nothing less than America's
ability to remain an Asia-Pacific power.
Missile Defense High on
Bush Agenda
(Associated Press, Dec. 16, 2000) The world according to George W. Bush
during the campaign: a stronger U.S. military, a tougher line on Russia and
China, a scaled-down peacekeeping role and a missile defense system to
protect America, whether the rest of the globe likes it or not. Now, as the
president-elect builds his Cabinet and team of advisers, allies and foes wait
to see how much of the Bush vision will become reality.
China
and Missile Defense By Ronald Montaperto and Michael O'Hanlon
(The Nixon Center, Oct. 19, 2000) Though China still lags far behind the
United States in terms of strategic weaponry, the speakers, Dr. Ronald
Montaperto of the National Defense University and Dr. Michael O’Hanlon of the
Brookings Institution, argued that NMD and TMD could provoke a destabilizing
arms race in East Asia. Dr. David M. Lampton, Director of Chinese Studies at
The Nixon Center, moderated the discussion.
TMD and US-China-Japan
Cooperation By Wang
Qun
(Director of China's Department of Arms Control and
Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Missile Defense Initiative Special
Report, Sept. 28, 2000) The excuse employed by the U.S. and Japan in pursuing
their TMD joint development program is untenable. TMD is not a relevant
answer to threats flowing from missile development and proliferation; on the
contrary, it can only constrain the relations of major powers, increase their
mistrust and thus impede their cooperation with profound and far-reaching
negative impacts on regional peace, security and stability.
Missile Defense Deferral
Makes Asia a Safer Place By Tom Plate
(LA Times, Sep. 6, 2000) Give the outgoing president a hand for a
domestically risky and internationally astute decision to delay, at least for
the rest of his term, a mammoth national missile defense system that neither
the United States nor the world needs. In Asia, a sprawling, politically and
ethnically diverse region, many will have good reason to assess this as one
of Bill Clinton's finest moments as a world leader. Clinton did not bow to obvious
election-year pressure to keep the Democratic defense posture
tougher-than-nails with a costly new missile defense system, which would have
more effectively shielded Al Gore from George W. Bush's political flak than
Peoria from missiles.
Missile Defense Is Elevated
as Campaign Issue By Charles Babington
(Washington Post, Sep. 1, 2000) The postponement of a deployment decision for
a national missile defense system, announced today by President Clinton,
elevates an emotional issue in the presidential campaign just as it enters
its most important phase. The most likely beneficiary, for now at least, is
Republican George W. Bush, who has criticized the administration's indecision
on this subject. Gore, meanwhile, praised Clinton's
announcement and said the nation should continue testing the feasibility of a
missile defense system. Bush's proposal envisions a more elaborate and
expensive missile defense system than Clinton and Gore have contemplated.
Theater Missile Defense: How Will It Recast
Security and Diplomacy in East Asia? By Peter Brookes
(Heritage
Foundation, Aug. 17, 2000) The great unexamined story today regarding
ballistic missile defense (BMD) in Asia is the unspoken effect that actions
by the People's Republic of China (PRC) are having on America's consideration
of its own future missile defenses. The Clinton Administration decries
missile programs in Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, but for some inexplicable
reason it fears mentioning the "C" word: China. Changes in Chinese
capability, doctrine, and proliferation practices require an appropriate
response from the United States to deter and, if necessary, defend against
it.
Taiwan Experts Want Bigger Anti-Missile Budget
(Reuters,
Aug. 16, 2000) Taiwan needs a bigger defense budget to beef up its
anti-missile defence to counter moves by rival China to upgrade its ballistic
missile technology, some military experts said on Tuesday. "M-class
missiles pose the greatest threat to Taiwan as they are the most
cost-effective way of launching strikes against our major cities, military
bases, infrastructure and airports."
A Call to Arms By Murray Hiebert and Susan V.
Lawrence
(Far
Eastern Economic Review, Aug. 3, 2000) The decision by the United States to
deploy a missile defence system is all but made, leaving Americans to ponder
life under a protective umbrella that could track and destroy incoming
missiles. Despite the embarrassment of failed tests and public scrutiny, the
only significant debate in Washington--where domestic politics rather than
foreign policy is driving the process--is over the size of the system to
deploy, and whether President Bill Clinton should initiate construction or
pass deployment on to his successor.
Missile Defense Goes to Sea By Kim
Holmes and Baker Spring
(Heritage
Foundation, July 12, 2000) Critics of a U.S. national missile defense are
trying to use the recent test failure as "proof" the technology is
unworkable. They’re wrong, but the debate threatens to eclipse a more
fundamental question: If the United States needs to protect itself from the
growing arsenal of missiles around the world, what’s the best way to do it?
National Missile Defenses and Chinese Nuclear
Modernization (PDF file) By Anthony H. Cordesman
(Center
for Strategic and International Studies Background paper, July 2000) The net
threat China poses to the American homeland probably will be larger if the US
deploys an NMD system than if the US did not. At the same time, China seems
likely to increase its ICBM, SLBM, and cruise missile threat against the US
in any case. As is the case with Russia, it is possible that the US may be
able to negotiate some kind of ceiling on Chinese strategic forces in
response for clear limits to a US NMD system. Unlike Russia, however, China
sees a serious prospect of military confrontation with the US over issues
like the Taiwan Straits.
Beijing Is Setting the Stage for Trouble in the
South China Sea By Mark J. Valencia
(International
Herald Tribune, July 3, 2000) Missles launched from sea-based systems could
avoid being misled by decoys by destroying an enemy missile in its boost
phase, shortly after liftoff. But to do so the surface ships and submarines
carrying the anti-ballistic missiles would have to be rather close to the
launch site. This may help to explain the U.S. Navy's growing concern with
freedom of navigation issues in the South China Sea. Washington's policy has
evolved from active neutrality to active concern. Active involvement is
likely to be the next step, resulting in a serious new source of tension with
China.
Theater Missile Defenses in the Asia-Pacific Region
(A Henry L.
Stimson Center Working Group Report, June 29, 2000 ) US policy choices toward
TMD in the Asia-Pacific region must be acutely mindful of the pitfalls
associated with missile defense deployments, but they must also be responsive
to the growing ballistic missile threats in the region. A simplistic,
"one-size-fits-all" policy for TMD would worsen regional security
and harm US national security interests.
U.S. Eyes Starting Missile Defense: ABM Treaty Issue Left for Next
Year By Thomas E. Ricks and Steven Mufson
(Washington
Post, June 28, 2000) If a crucial flight test goes well next week, President
Clinton is likely to give a "limited green light" for a national
missile defense system, a middle course that the United States would argue
does not violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and that would leave the
toughest decisions to his successor, according to administration officials.
The first phase of the proposed missile defense system would consist of 100
interceptor missiles based in Alaska and an advanced radar station on Shemya
Island at the tip of the Aleutian chain, the westernmost fringe of the United
States.
Beijing Must Factor Into Missile Defense Equation
by Greg May
(The
Nixon Center, June 12, 2000) As America plunges ahead with its plan to deploy
a limited national missile defense (NMD) system, the U.S. is making a great
effort to overcome Russian opposition. But it is actually the reaction of
China, not Russia, that will be the decisive factor in whether a missile
defense system will ultimately improve U.S. security or lead to a new arms
race. Unfortunately, Washington is paying scant attention to the potential
impact missile defense will have on America's strategic relations with the
world's most populous nation.
China's Opposition to US Missile Defense Programs
By Evan S. Medeiros and Kevin Pollpeter
(Center
for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies,
June 2000) China has always opposed missile defenses, but its opposition has
become more vocal in recent years as the United States has accelerated its
national missile defense (NMD) program and sought to expand theater missile
defense (TMD) cooperation with Japan and Taiwan. Chinese opposition to US
missile defense programs is based on both historical and substantive concerns
about the danger of nuclear blackmail, the United States' superpower status,
US alliances, Japan's military potential and US military aid to Taiwan.
What About China? By Peter
Scoblic
(New York
Times, June 9, 2000) In its eagerness to persuade Russia to accept deployment
of a U.S. missile defense, the Clinton administration has all but ignored
China, a nuclear power in its own right and an opponent of these systems.
China currently fields about 20 nuclear-armed missiles capable of striking
the continental United States. For decades, it has relied on this small force
not only to deter a nuclear attack, but also to guarantee it a place at the
table with the other great powers and to offset their conventional weaponry.
Risk of Arms Race Seen in U.S. Design of Missile
Defense By Michael R. Gordon and Steven Lee Myers
(New York
Times, May 27, 2000) As President Clinton nears a decision on whether to
build a limited national missile defense, American intelligence officials are
warning that such a system could set off a cold-war-style arms race between
China, India and Pakistan, administration officials say. While the American
officials have repeatedly said an antimissile defense is not aimed at Beijing,
even they acknowledge that the system being designed could significantly
undercut or even neutralize China's small nuclear force.
Theater Missile Defense in Northeast Asia
(Center
for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies,
April 26, 2000) This annotated chronology covers key events such as
indigenous development, missile testing, and TMD-related transfers to the
region, as well as major policy statements made by the governments involved.
In addition, the chronology is prefaced by a brief updated summary of key
actors' positions and policies on TMD issues in the region.
Indefensible Decisions By
Zbigniew Brzezinski
(Washington
Post, May 5, 2000) the Chinese quite naturally would view an American
decision to deploy in the above-mentioned fashion as directed primarily
against them. That would intensify American-Chinese tensions (a matter hardly
of regret to Moscow) and precipitate Chinese efforts to upgrade their
nuclear-armed ICBM capabilities, including the deployment of decoys to
override the partial American missile defense. The American initiative and
the Chinese reaction would probably cause anxiety in Japan and South Korea.
Budgetary and Technical Implications of the
Administration's Plan for National Missile Defense
(Congressional
Budget Office, April 25, 2000) This report estimates that the cost of the
proposed national missile defense system may reach as much as $60 billion.
The offspring of President Reagan's space-based "Star Wars" missile
defense system, the proposed missile shield would be composed of ground-based
missile interceptors guided by infrared satellites and radar. Vehemently
opposed by the Russian Government and receiving only lukewarm support from
significant sections of the military and Congress, the missile program's fate
will be decided this summer, when President Clinton has said he will
determine whether or not to proceed.
China's Opposition to TMD is More About Politics
Than Missiles By Greg May
(Nixon
Center, February 2000) One of the greatest irritants in the U.S.- Japan-China
triangular relationship is something that does not even exist yet. Although
it will not be operational until 2007 at the earliest, the proposed theater
missile defense system currently under development by Washington and Tokyo
has met with intense Chinese opposition. The pursuit of missile defense is a
"a dangerous act," according to a January 1999 article in China’s
Liberation Army Daily, that is motivated by America’s "pursuit of strategic
superiority and hegemony."
Needlessly Antagonizing China By Leon
V. Sigal
(Global
Beat Syndicate, Feb. 23, 2000) A decision to deploy missile defense systems
will do little to protect the United States against potential threats but it
is sure to stir Chinese antagonism. And it could also alienate America's
allies and destabilize relations in Northeast Asia. Ostensibly, the defense
systems are intended to counter an emerging missile threat from North Korea.
But Beijing believes Washington has exaggerated that threat while at the same
time refusing to deal with Pyongyang.
Close Isn't Good Enough
(Editorial, LA Times, Jan. 20, 2000) The Pentagon blames a pair of
malfunctioning sensors for Tuesday's failure of a $100-million test of a
missile interceptor system that it hopes can defend the country against
intercontinental attack from rogue states. China has far fewer ICBMs, but as
one of its defense officials told Times correspondent Jim Mann this week, if
the United States deployed a missile defense system, China could boost its
missile production to offset that deterrent.
US Presidential Candidates Thoughts on Missiles
(Associated Press, Jan. 9, 2000) Does America need a national missile defense
system to defend itself against nuclear attack? Al Gore: ``The decision to
proceed toward deployment of a national missile defense system needs to be
based on: 1. the level of our confidence in the technology; 2. its impact on
our ability to protect arms control; 3. an assessment of the cost; and 4. an
evaluation of the threat. As President, I would be willing to consider
changes to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty restricting missile deployment
and even abandoning the treaty if the United States was seriously threatened
by a missile attack from a 'rogue' nation.''
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