Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 51, October 2000

China Defence White Paper

'' National Defence in 2000,' White paper published by the Information Office of the State Council October 16, 2000.

"I. The Security Situation

... A series of negative developments have occurred in the area of arms control and disarmament. In particular, a certain country is still continuing its efforts to develop and introduce the National Missile Defence and Theatre Missile Defence systems, which have undermined the international community' efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to promote disarmament. ...

There are new negative developments in the security of the Asia-Pacific region. The United States is further strengthening its military presence and bilateral military alliances in this region, advocating the development of the TMD system and planning to deploy it in East Asia. Japan has passed a bill relating to measures in the event of a situation in the areas surrounding Japan. All this goes against the tide of the times. Joint military exercises have increased in the region, to the detriment of trust between countries. The uncertain factors affecting security on the Korean Peninsula continue to exist, and the situation in South Asia remains unstable. ... The Taiwan Straits situation is complicated and grim. Lee Teng-hui flagrantly dished out his ' states' theory in an attempt to split the country. ... The United States has never stopped selling advanced weapons to Taiwan. Some people in the United States have been trying hard to get the Congress to pass the so-called Taiwan Security Enhancement Act. And some are even attempting to incorporate Taiwan into the US TMD system. The newly revised Guidelines for US-Japan Defence Co-operation has failed to explicitly undertake to exclude Taiwan from the scope of ' areas surrounding Japan' referred to in the Japanese security bill that could involve military intervention. ...

II. National Defence Policy

China possesses a small number of nuclear weapons entirely for self-defence. China undertakes not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states. China does not participate in any nuclear arms race, and never deploys any nuclear weapons beyond its borders. China maintains a small but effective nuclear counterattacking force in order to deter possible nuclear attacks by other countries. Any such attack will inevitably result in a retaliatory nuclear counterstrike by China. China has always kept the number of its nuclear weapons at a low level. The scale, composition and development of China' nuclear force are in line with China' military strategy of active defence. China' nuclear force is under the direct command of the Central Military Commission (CMC). China is extremely cautious and responsible in the management of its nuclear weapons, and has established strict rules and regulations and taken effective measures to ensure the safety and security of its nuclear weapons. ..."

Source: full text of White Paper published by China Daily, October 17, 2000.