DATE=2/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N / CHINA / U-S (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259516
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:


INTRO:  China says the U-S missile defense policy 
threatens global nuclear stability.  Lisa Schlein in 
Geneva reports a Chinese delegate to the U-N 
Conference on Disarmament accused the United States of 
seeking military superiority in outer space.

TEXT:  China warns that plans by the United States to 
build a missile defense program is likely to cause an 
arms race in outer space.  In a statement to the U-N 
Conference on Disarmament, the Chinese delegate says 
America's proposed missile defense system violates the 
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
 
Speaking through an interpreter, Ambassador Hu Xiaodi 
says the United States is embarking on a dangerous 
course.

            /// HU / TRANSLATOR ACT ///

      If a state attempts to evade its treaty 
      obligations or even tears up the treaty, it will 
      set a bad precedent for the field of 
      multilateral arms control and disarmament.  It 
      will not only undermine global and regional 
      strategic balance and stability, obstruct or 
      even reverse the nuclear disarmament process, 
      but also open the door to the weaponization of 
      outer space. 

            /// END ACT ///

The 1972 A-B-M treaty prohibits countries from 
developing, testing, and deploying space-based 
systems.  It also prohibits the development and 
deployment of national missile defense systems that 
can cover a country's entire territory.

Ambassador Hu says the treaty has played an 
indispensable role in maintaining global strategic 
stability by preventing an arms race in outer space.  
He says it has made gradual progress in nuclear 
disarmament possible.  He also says the United States 
should comply with its treaty obligations and not 
threaten to withdraw from the treaty if it is not 
amended to its liking.

On another matter, the State Department has said it is 
concerned about recent Chinese threats to go to war 
against Taiwan if the island delays re-unification 
talks with Beijing.  China considers Taiwan to be a 
renegade province.  Ambassador Hu maintains Taiwan is 
part of China.

            /// 2ND HU ACT ///

      I must solemnly point out that the Taiwan issue 
      is completely an internal affair of China.  No 
      powers in the world, including the United 
      States, can stop the Chinese people from 
      realizing the re-unification of their 
      motherland.

            /// END ACT ///

/// UNVOICED OPT ///  China's Nationalist Party 
(Kuomintang) government moved to Taiwan in 1949 when 
the communists took control of the mainland provinces.  
/// END OPT ///

The Chinese Ambassador says certain people in the 
United States have always encouraged Taiwan's 
independence.  He notes the United States has, for 
years, supplied Taiwan with sophisticated weapons.  He 
says these actions encroach upon China's sovereignty.  
He says the United States should stop interfering in 
China's internal affairs and threatening its security.   
(SIGNED)

NEB/LS/GE/RAE 



24-Feb-2000 09:24 AM EDT (24-Feb-2000 1424 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.