-Caveat Lector- � Report: U.S. Encouraging China to Build Missiles, Nuclear Weapons Phil Brennan Monday, September 3, 2001 A report in the New York Times over the Labor Day weekend that the Bush Administration will turn a blind eye to Red China's modernization of its nuclear missile arsenal has stirred concern on Capitol Hill where two Senators expressed alarm that the alleged new policy will encourage the Chinese to vastly increase their missile fleet. China reportedly has some two dozen aging missiles aimed at the United States and some experts predict that their number could increase tenfold over the next 10 years. According to the Times' sources, by giving Beijing a go ahead to do what they are going to do under any circumstances the administration might be able to convince the Chinese that the planned U.S. nuclear missile defense system (NMD) in not aimed at them but at the so-called rogue nations. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer denied that the Bush administration was courting China's support of the missile defense system in exchange for U.S. acceptance of a nuclear or military buildup by Beijing, as the Times reported. The Times' sources also told them that the U.S. would not object to continued nuclear testing in mainland China The paper reported that the new approach appeared to mark a significant change in American policy in which the U.S. discouraged China and all other nations from increasing the size or quality of their nuclear arsenals, and from nuclear tests of any kind. White House sources, however, reply that the Chinese intend to go ahead and increase their small nuclear missile fleet no matter what Washington says, so we might just as well encourage them. "We know the Chinese will enhance their nuclear capability anyway, and we are going to say to them, `We're not going to tell you not to do it,' " a senior administration official deeply involved in formulating the strategy told the Times. "Why panic? They are modernizing anyway." President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, told the Washington Post the administration soon would begin talks to try to convince China it would not be threatened by the [NMD] shield and should not aim more missiles at the United States. "We want to engage China on issues regarding missile defense, and we really haven't," Rice told the Post. "We want to have serious talks with them about why this is not a threat to them. We want to have serious talks with them about why we think stability in the Asia-Pacific region would be well served by this capability." "The United States is not about to propose to the Chinese that in exchange for Chinese acceptance of missile defense, we will accept a nuclear buildup. "We have told the Chinese that the missile defense system is not aimed at them, and we intend to make that point more forcefully," she said. "We do not believe that there is any reason for the Chinese to build up their nuclear forces, but their modernization has been under way for some time." The Associated Press reported that the White House will brief China on the NMD before President Bush visits Beijing next month as part of the U.S. attempts to convince other countries that the proposed missile shield is not a threat. "This is part of the administration's outreach to China and other nations such as Russia to discuss with them the reason why we are developing a missile defense system and how it is designed to protect us from rogue nations or accidental launches," Fleischer told the AP. "It is something we are hoping they will support because it is not aimed at China," he said. "The president thinks it is important to consult with our allies and other nations." The White House is pursuing missile defense "separate and apart" from the issue of China's desire to expand its limited arsenal of nuclear missiles, Fleischer added. "The United States has made it clear and continues to make it clear that a military buildup there is not necessary." He also said there was no change in U.S. policy on the testing of nuclear weapons, now precluded by a worldwide moratorium. "We have no plans to resume testing," Fleischer said. "I would not like to see the Chinese expand their nuclear capabilities," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. "I think it is much too soon to even think about matters that offset our missile defense." China is "the coming colossus of the world and a superpower," Specter said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "I would not want to see them become any more powerful in the nuclear line. I think we ought to formulate our policy in many different ways to try to avoid just that." Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said. "This is absolutely absurd. It shows that these guys will go to any length to build a national missile defense, even one they can't define. Their headlong, headstrong, irrational and theological desire to build a missile defense sends the wrong message to the Chinese and to the whole world." Observers say the whole thing is a tempest in a teapot, noting that the U.S. is doing nothing more than recognizing the inevitable - that China is going to go ahead with its missile modernization plans no matter what the U.S. says. E-mail a Comment to NewsMax Reprint Information <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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