Relation of Missile Defenses to China
A release by the Press Secretary describes the relation of future missile defense programs to China, and efforts to assure Chinese concerns about US systems. The statement would seem to indicate some ambiguity in America’s relation to the communist country. While stating that “the U.S. missile defense program does not threaten China but seeks to counter limited missile threats from rogue states and the danger of accidental or unauthorized launches,” it goes on to speak of disappoval of China’s “expansion of their nuclear ballistic missile force” and their overall military expansion and modernization “initiated years” before US missile defense efforts, as well as expressing “concern” about “the export of Chinese missile technology,” and “the Chinese buildup of short-range ballistic missiles,” referring to buildup near Taiwan.
Thus, while “only those foreign parties with hostile intent toward the United States have grounds to fear U.S. missile defense,” one has to wonder whether China is among those with “hostile intent toward the United States.”
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Policy, Proliferation
