China Favours Ad Hoc Committee on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space
(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 27 January (UN information Service) -- The Conference on Disarmament this morning heard statements from Malaysia, in the name of the Group of 21 (Non- Aligned countries which are members of the Conference on Disarmament), and China.
Hu Xiaodi, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that in the global context, the cold war mentality still lingered on and hegemonism and power politics manifested themselves in an expanding way. He said gross intervention into other countries' internal affairs had reached an extreme form; military forces were used in international relations without the authorization of the United Nations; and the gigantic military bloc, instead of fading away, was being further enlarged and strengthened.
Mr. Hu also said that his country maintained that the Conference should establish an ad hoc committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. It was also in favour of commencing serious multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, with the view of achieving the objective of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons at an early date.
Speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, Hamidon Ali, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that while various approaches existed, the Group of 21 expressed its conviction that efforts for the conclusion of a universal, and legally binding instrument on security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States should be pursued. He said that the Group hoped that the Conference would commence early substantive work during its current annual session, and to that end reaffirmed its readiness to participate constructively in all efforts aimed at reaching agreement on the programme of work.
Mr. Ali also said that the Group of 21 had emphasized that nuclear disarmament was the highest priority for the Conference on Disarmament. It stressed the importance of the elimination of the possibility of nuclear war, the threats to humanity derived from the continued existence of nuclear weapons and the possible use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. He said that the Group had underscored the need to accomplish the total elimination of nuclear weapons and emphasized the urgent need to commence negotiations without delay.
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Also this morning, the Conference endorsed requests by the Governments of Kuwait and Moldova to participate, as observers, in the work of the Conference during its annual session.
Before adjourning the meeting, the President of the Conference announced that he had not yet received a unanimous and positive response from all the Member States of the Conference concerning a document he had circulated among them. He said he would continue his efforts until he received a 100 per cent positive response.
The next plenary of the Conference on Disarmament will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, 3 February.
Statements
HAMIDON ALI, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, stated that the Conference had started its session against a backdrop of serious and multifarious challenges facing the international community in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation in all its aspects and international security, particularly the attempts to justify the perspective of indefinite possession of nuclear arsenals and related concepts of nuclear deterrence.
Mr. Ali said that the Group stressed that as the single multilateral negotiating forum in disarmament, the Conference's programme of work should be responsive to those challenges and the interests and priorities of all its members, as well as the aspirations of the international community in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation in all its aspects, and international peace and security.
Mr. Ali further said that the Group had expressed its concern that the Conference was unable to undertake substantive work on the basis of an agreed programme of work in 1999, in spite of the demonstrated flexibility shown by it with regard to a number of formal and informal proposals that were made during the course of that session. The Group had affirmed its readiness to participate constructively in all efforts aimed at reaching agreement on a programme of work which was comprehensive and balanced.
The Group emphasized that nuclear disarmament was the highest priority for the Conference on Disarmament, Mr. Ali went on to state. The Group stressed the importance of the elimination of the possibility of nuclear war, the threats to humanity derived from the continued existence of nuclear weapons and the possible use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It underscored the need to accomplish the total elimination of nuclear weapons and emphasized the urgent need to commence negotiations without delay.
Mr. Ali said that while various approaches existed, the Group expressed its conviction that efforts for the conclusion of a universal and legally binding instrument on security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States should be pursued. He said that the Group hoped that the Conference would commence early substantive
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work during its current annual session, and to that end reaffirmed its readiness to participate constructively in all efforts aimed at reaching agreement on the programme of work.
HU XIAODI, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva, told the Conference that on 9 and 10 December 1999, the Presidents of China and the Russian Federation had held a second informal summit during which they had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common interest. The two leaders issued a joint statement elaborating, among other things, on the world situation, the role of the United Nations and international security, arms control and disarmament.
The Chinese people, together with all other peoples of the world, strove to realize the goals of peace, security and development, Mr. Hu went on to say. What the international community needed was lasting peace, universal security and common development. They should be enjoyed by the whole world, not only by a single State or a group of States. All nations should join efforts to advance the arms control and disarmament process in a just, reasonable and comprehensive way. In retrospect, one could see that all the peace-loving nations and people had made unremitting endeavours to that end and had achieved remarkable accomplishments.
Mr. Hu continued to state that in the global context, a cold war mentality still lingered on, if indeed it had not been resurrected. Hegemonism and power politics manifested themselves in an expanding way; gross intervention into other countries' internal affairs reached an extreme form; military forces were used in international relations without the authorization of the United Nations; and the gigantic military bloc, instead of fading away, was being further enlarged and strengthened. A certain country, for its own benefit and in defiance of the requirements and appeals of General Assembly resolutions, practised expediency and double standards towards arms control and disarmament agreements. It was even trying to weaken or abolish a relevant treaty to keep its hands free in the research, development and proliferation of an advanced missile defence system, which undermined the strategic balance and stability.
Mr. Hu said that those developments had undermined the confidence and security perceptions among States and posed serious threats to the achievements already made in arms control and disarmament, inevitably leading to destruction of the present and future work of the Conference. The international community, therefore, believed that international arms control and the disarmament process had reached a crucial crossroads. As the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body, the Conference had an indispensable role to play in safeguarding world peace and security.
Mr. Hu said that as far as China was concerned, the prevention of an arms race in outer space, including the prohibition of outer space weapons, as well as the prohibition of anti-ballistic missile systems which undermined strategic stability, was the top priority. The negative developments in that field had stalled the nuclear disarmament process and had undermined the basis for non-proliferation. China maintained that the Conference should establish an Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. It was also in favour of commencing serious multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, with the view to achieving the objective of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons at an early date.
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