China voiced strong opposition to any attempt by the US
to amend the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which remains a cornerstone for the
maintenance of global strategic balance and stability in the world today.
Ambassador Hu Xiaodi, the Chinese delegate to the First
Committee of the 54th General Assembly, made the statement in a press interview here.
"For years, the United States has repeatedly
called on other countries to comply with existing international arms control
treaties," he said. "Moreover, it has, for many years, tabled resolutions
entitled 'Compliance with arms limitation and disarmament agreements" at the General
Assembly."
"Russia's draft resolution merely quotes certain
provisions from the Treaty and calls for full and strict compliance with the Treaty by all
state parties," he said.
"The draft resolution, I believe, is mild,
reasonable and factual," he said. "It has just laid bare the truth to the
international community."
China and Belarus are co-sponsors of the draft
resolution, entitled "Preservation of and Compliance with Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty," which Russia introduced to the First Committee on Thursday morning.
"We therefore cannot go along with the allegation
that the Russian Federation is seeking confrontation," he said. "Quite on the
contrary, we believe that the draft resolution is a necessary step in the right
direction."
"If the atmosphere here at the General Assembly is
to be characterized as 'somewhat confrontational' during discussions, it shows exactly
that the pursuit by the US of missile defense programs has aroused the grave concern of
the international community as such a move goes against the general trend of the
times," he said.
"In this context, the Chinese side expresses its
understanding of the Russian Federation in tabling the draft resolution," he said,
"And as its co-sponsor, China will render all its support to this draft
resolution." (Xinhua)
WorldNews 1999-10-22 Page7