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U.S. Defense Secretary Expresses Concern on Expansion of Chinese Nuclear Capabilities
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today expressed concern that China appears to be boosting its nuclear arsenal with longer-range delivery systems, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 6). “China of course is expanding its missile forces and enabling those forces to reach many areas of the world, well beyond the Pacific region,” Rumsfeld told the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing. “As a result, countries with interests in the region are asking questions about China’s intentions,” he said. Beijing sought to reassure the United States. “As we have already said many times, China’s strengthening of its own defense ability is completely appropriate. There is nothing to be suspicious or worried about,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. During a visit yesterday to the strategic nuclear forces headquarters, Gen. Jing Zhiyan told Rumsfeld that China remains committed to a policy of “no first use” of nuclear weapons, according to a senior U.S. defense official. Talk that Beijing is targeting other countries is “completely groundless,” Jing was quoted as telling Rumsfeld. The U.S. Defense Department released a reported in July that found China is upgrading its older long-range ballistic missile systems and that it plans to deploy a road-mobile intercontinental missile, an extended range intercontinental missile and a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the coming years (see GSN, July 20; Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 20).
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