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----- Original Message -----
From: redredred
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2000 11:23 AM
Subject: [MLL] US promoting new arms race The Guardian July 19, 2000
William Cohen, the US Secretary of Defence, came to Australia last weekend armed with orders for the Australian Government: 1. Spend more on the military — a decision already foreshadowed by Prime Minister Howard in recent statements on defence matters. 2. Make facilities such as Pine Gap available for the testing and operational use of an updated US Star Wars missile program, the National Missile Defence (NMD), and the Tactical Missile Defence (TMD) programs. 3. Line up with the United States should a war with China be initiated by the US over Taiwan. It is clear from the muted response of the Howard Government that it is prepared to accept and implement these US requirements. William Cohen is reported to have described Australia as an "anchor" in the South Pacific and regards the present government as compliant to US wishes. If Australia takes this path, it will once again become a nuclear missile target and be isolated politically from other Asian countries. In an attempt to justify its preparations for a new Star Wars missile program, Cohen claims that it is not directed against China or Russia but at the "rogue states". None of the so-called "rogue states" (Iran, Iraq, North Korea, etc) have any capacity what-so-ever to threaten the US. The missile program is directed principally against China and Russia and would be a giant step towards the ambition of the US to dominate the whole world. In a statement to The Guardian, CPA General Secretary Peter Symon said that "the nuclear missile clock has again been pushed to the danger mark. The US is entirely responsible for this development. "It has failed to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), it is attempting to renegotiate or tear up the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) under which some reduction of nuclear weapons took place. Mr Symon said that by going down the path of the (NMD), the US is about to provoke a new world-wide hi-tech arms race. "Inevitably, other countries will boost their production of nuclear weapons and their capacity to deliver them to any part of the world, including the US. "Many governments have already rejected the US plans, including Canada, Germany, France, Russia and China. If the Australian Government complies with the US demands it will be an act of irresponsibility and will disregard the interests of Australia in the Pacific. It is extremely short- sighted", said Mr Symon. China's opposition An editorial in China Daily on July 13, at the time of Cohen's visit to China, under the headline: "US a threat to world peace", says that the United States of America should be blamed for the escalating global arms race. The US, it said, is going against the will of the world and seeking military supremacy. The China Daily Editorial recalls that in 1996 the CTBT was ratified in the United Nations General Assembly, "something which signified a major breakthrough in worldwide disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. "But NATO's eastward expansion and the US-led NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia last year have led to a step backwards in disarmament and damaged the relationship between Russia and the United States." To safeguard its strategic interests in East Asia, the United States has strengthened its alliance with Japan, which constitutes a threat to regional stability, the editorial said. The US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade brought the Sino-US disarmament talks to a standstill. The US has also tried to amend the 1972 ABM Treaty as well as refusing to sign the CTBT. Billions for arms The US has greatly increased its military expenditure. Last year, the figure stood at US$276.2 billion, increasing to US$288.8 billion this year. That is 2.5 times the total spending of Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and China. "It aims to disable the offensive capabilities of its major strategic rivals, namely, Russia and China, and establish its superiority in the world", continued China Daily. "The rejection by the US of the CTBT and its attempt to amend the ABM Treaty have clearly revealed how it only considers its own strategic interests and disregards the overall security and stability of the globe. "If a country wants to safeguard its security by working on its military strength, its rivals will certainly try to take counter-measures, and the world will be exposed to more serious threats. "If the United States goes on with its policy of wanting to be dominant, the world will be plunged into turmoil and the US itself will suffer from a global arms race", warned China Daily. |
