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Negotiation of the "Fissile Material
Cut-off Treaty"
Source: Permanent Mission of the PRC to the UN Office at Geneva
The conclusion of a "Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty" (FMCT) will be conducive
to nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Therefore, China takes a
positive attitude towards the negotiation and conclusion of this treaty.
The FMCT negotiation should be carried out in accordance with the mandate
contained in the relevant resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. The
treaty should only ban the future production of fissile material for nuclear
weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, and should not touch upon the
existing stockpiles. The basic obligations of the treaty should cover two
aspects, namely, banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons
or other nuclear explosive devices, and prohibiting the diversion of fissile
material produced for other purposes after the entry into force of the treaty to
nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The verification regime of
the treaty should comply with the above-mentioned basic obligations for just and
effective verification. Moreover, the treaty should neither impede the
international cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, nor undermine the
legitimate security interest of the State Parties. To achieve global
"prohibition of fissile material production", the treaty should be universal
with the participation of all countries capable of producing fissile material.
The priority for the international community is to initiate the FMCT negotiation
and to conclude the treaty at an early date. The "moratorium of production" , if
declared by countries concerned, might be exploited to delay the treaty
negotiation. This will neither promote the negotiation and conclusion of the
treaty, nor fundamentally resolve the issues concerning the production and
verification of fissile material
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or
its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by
MIIS.
