CONTENTS
1. Japan on US Missile Defense
2. Recognition by Macedonia
II. People’s Republic of China 1. DPRK Light-Water Reactors
2. DPRK-US Talks
3. ROK Response to US-DPRK Talks
4. PRC Calls for PAROS Agreement
5. US NMD Testing
6. Russian View of US NMD System
7. French View of US NMD Deployment
8. US Nuclear Weapons
III. Russian Federation 1. DPRK-US Relations
2. PRC to Return US Reconnaissance Plane in Four Pieces
3. PRC on Outer Space Militarization Issue
4. RF Media on RF Foreign Relations in Northeast Asia
5. RF Air Force Reform
I. United States
1. Japan on US Missile Defense
The Associated Press (“JAPAN PM MAY OPPOSE MISSILE DEFENSE,” Tokyo, 6/13/01) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did not rule out opposing US plans for a missile defense shield, saying on Wednesday that Japan needs to “carefully consider” its position. Koizumi said, “We have to carefully consider this issue, which has enormous influence on global security.” Asked by Japanese Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama whether a US missile defense system might trigger a global arms race, Koizumi said, “We can’t rule out that possibility.” The comments were a departure from the government’s position of complete neutrality.
2. Recognition by Macedonia
Agence France Presse (“TAIWAN DENIES ALREADY DUMPED BY MACEDONIA,” Taipei, 6/13/01) reported that Taiwan on Wednesday denied that Macedonia had already decided to break off diplomatic ties with it and recognize the PRC instead as the sole representative of China. Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Chang Siao-yueh said, “The report about breaking off diplomatic ties is incorrect.” However, she acknowledged that Taiwan had launched a last-ditch campaign as Macedonia mulls restoring its diplomatic links with the PRC. Chang said, “Indeed there are some unfavorable factors. We are still trying our best” to salvage the ties. The comments came after Macedonian government spokesman Antonio Milososki told reporters that the Balkan nation had “decided to normalize relations between Macedonia and China.” Chang insisted that Milososki’s remarks did not represent the Macedonian government’s final word. She said the proposal by Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva to restore diplomatic ties with the PRC was turned down by Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski at a cabinet meeting on June 12.
II. People’s Republic of China
1. DPRK Light-Water Reactors
Jiefang Daily (Xinhua News Agency, “DPRK DEMANDS FOR COMPENSATION FROM THE US,” Pyongyang, 06/07/01, P3) reported that the Korean Central News Agency released a commentary, saying that the US should bear inescapable responsibility for the delay of DPRK’s two light-water reactors’ construction. The US should, the commentary stressed, compensate the DPRK for the electricity loss brought by the delay. It pointed out that according to the Framework Agreement, the US should build for the DPRK light-water reactors plant before 2003 with a capacity of 2 million KW. It said the DPRK has frozen the national nuclear industry to implement the agreement, for which it has suffered great loss. If the US side does not compensate the DPRK for its loss, the commentary warned, DPRK will have to restore its construction of graphite reactor to defend its right of survival.
2. DPRK-US Talks
People Daily (Xinhua News Agency, Yan Feng, “US DECLARES TO RESUME TALKS WITH DPRK,” Washington, 06/08/01, P3) reported that on June 6, US President Bush declared that he has ordered his diplomatic group to resume talks with DPRK on nuclear technology and missile development issues. Bush said in a written declaration that if DPRK responds actively and takes proper activities, the US will enlarge its aid to DPRK and loosen sanction and adopt other political measures. He pointed out that the agenda of bilateral talks is wide-ranging, which includes not only DPRK nuclear technology and missile development and export program, but also the deployment of DPRK conventional forces. He further expressed that the US-DPRK talks will be carried on within a framework of overall DPRK policy. This policy, he added, aims to encourage the North-South reconciliation and peace, and to facilitate the US-DPRK constructive relationship and regional stability. A US official said that the talks will be held first at low-level and then increase the levels according to the outcomes.
Wenhui Daily (Xinhua News Agency, Yan Feng, “POWELL: NO PRECONDITION FOR NEGOTIATION,” Washington, 06/09/01, P2) reported that at a press conference after talks with visiting ROK Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade on June 7, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the US and the DPRK will work on issues of common concern. Responding to the question whether the US insists on listing the DPRK conventional forces into agenda, Powell said that the US may be more interested in some issues and wishes to put some relevant issues onto priority, but there is no precondition and the US side will not let these issues affect bilateral talks. He said that the specific date for the talks has not settled yet, but the US hopes it will happen in the near future. He added that US will probably engage with DPRK officials to the UN firstly.
3. ROK Response to US-DPRK Talks
People Daily (Wang Linchang, “ROK WELCOMES US-DPRK TO RESUME TALKS,” Seoul, 06/08/01, P3) reported that ROK President Kim Dae- jung’s spokesman made remarks over US’s decision to resume talks with DPRK, saying that ROK welcomed the decision. The spokesman said that ROK wishes the US-DPRK talks can make significant progress, thus improving US-DPRK bilateral relations and make contribution to the stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
4. PRC Calls for PAROS Agreement
PLA Daily (Xinhua News Agency, Lin Chuan, “PRC CALLS FOR PAROS AGREEMENT,” Vienna, 06/07/01, P5) reported that at the 44th session of the UN Peaceful Use of Outer Space Committee on June 6, PRC delegation leader Huang Huikang called for negotiation to conclude international agreement on preventing arms race in outer space (PAROS), due to the fact that some individual country seeks to control outer space for greater military advantage. Huang said, there have been great achievements in surveying and using outer space in the past 40 years, but there is severe challenge to the peaceful use of outer space. Some individual country with advanced space capability, Huang pointed out, worked out military strategy to control outer space in order to seek greater military advantage. Besides, he added, it continues to research and develop and test outer space weapons and weapon system including anti-missile system and anti-satellite weapon system, which makes it more severe for the weaponization of outer space. He warned that the weaponization of outer space will inevitably lead to arms race in outer space and break the world strategic balance and stability, which in turn will aggravate arms race in ground, sea and air. It will also undermine the mutual confidence among countries and pose negative influence to regional and international security. Huang said, the demilitarization of outer space is always the goal of international community, for which an international law regime needs to be formed to comprehensively and effectively prevent the militarization of outer space.
5. US NMD Testing
Jiefang Daily (Xinhua News Agency, “US WILL TEST NMD MISSILE INTERCEPTION NEXT MONTH,” Washington, 06/10/01, P4) reported that the US Ballistic Missile Defense Office spokesman released on June 8 that US Military plans to have the fourth test of missile interception, which is also the first test in the new Bush Administration. The spokesman said, according to the current arrangement, the fourth test will be held in mid to late July, with the same interception manner as that one failed in last July test.
6. Russian View of US NMD System
People Daily (Xinhua News Agency, Wang Xinqiao, “RUSSIAN DEFENSE CHIEF DISCLOSES US ASSUMPTION THREAT,” Brussels, 06/11/01, P3) reported that after meeting with US Defense Minister Rumsfeld on June 8, Russian Defense Minister Ivanov said in NATO headquarters that the long-distance missile threats that US takes to justify its missile shield system are completely assumed. He said these assumed threats have covered the real threats nowadays. He stressed that Russia takes other issues as the major threat to the world, which are religious extremism, terrorism and drug rampancy. In the short term, Russia will not put the assumed long-distance missile threat onto its agenda, he added. The two defense chiefs met to prepare for their presidents meeting on June 16. The new missile defense program will become a key issue in Bush and Putin summit talks.
7. French View of US NMD Deployment
Jiefang Daily (“FRANCE OPPOSES US NMD DEPLOYMENT,” 06/10/01, P4) reported that French President Hirac reiterated his opposition to US NMD program, when delivering a speech on French defense policy at the French Defense Institute on June 8. He stressed that the European defense establishment should be strengthened. Regarding US NMD, he said, the ABM treaty has basically restrained arms race in a big-scale and maintained the world strategic balance. France holds the same views as the US over new threat, he said. However, he pointed out, France diverges with the US on how to prevent the war threat from a tiny minority countries. France does not think the deployment of missile defense system can necessarily eliminate this threat. On the European defense issue, he emphasized that European defense should be responsible by the Europeans themselves. Europeans should not be over-dependent on the US and NATO.
8. US Nuclear Weapons
People Daily (Xinhua News Agency, Tang Shuifu, “US DOMESTIC REQUEST FOR NUCLEAR CUTDOWN,” Washington, 06/07/01, P3) reported that on the eve of US-Russian summit meeting, 16 US scientists and security experts called the US Government to cut its nuclear arsenals. They urged US President George W. Bush in a June 5 report to reduce the 10,500 pieces of US nuclear warheads that are targeting Russia and other countries to 1000 pieces. These scientists and security experts, affiliated to the Union of Concerned Scientists and the US Natural Resources Protection Commission, noted in the report that the nuclear warheads requested for reduction include those 1670 pieces left by the former George Bush government. They also expressed their oppositions to US NMD program, the deployment of which, they argued, will impel Russian ICBMs to be a ready state for launching, and other countries to increase their nuclear capacity.
III. Russian Federation
1. DPRK-US Relations
Nezavisimaya gazeta (D.K., “BUSH TO HAVE TALKS WITH PYONGYANG”, Moscow, 6, 06/08/01) reported that US President George W.Bush announced he was going to resume talks with DPRK on a wide range of issues including DPRK’s production and export of missiles and DPRK-ROK border situation. At the start of his term, Bush said he would not have contacts with DPRK for a long time and criticized his predecessor for his policy of “engagement”. The report noted that it seemed that pragmatics in US State Department overpowered “hawks in Pentagon and National Security Council.”
2. PRC to Return US Reconnaissance Plane in Four Pieces
The Izvestia (“THE PLANE TO BE CUT IN PIECES”, Moscow, 8, 06/09/01) reported that there were plans for US Navy reconnaissance EP-3 plane in Hainan to be cut into four pieces, that is body, wings and tail, to be delivered back to USA by RF- made An-124 transportation plane. The whole operation is to take a month. The US$80 million plane cannot be restored.
3. PRC on Outer Space Militarization Issue
The Izvestia (“CHINESE STAND FOR PEACEFUL OUTER SPACE”, Moscow, 7, 06/08/01) reported that a PRC representative a the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva made public a new draft treaty to ban testing and deployment of arms in outer space. Out of 66 national representatives, only the US representative disagreed, saying there were enough treaties to prevent arms race in outer space. An official said, obviously “Beijing is not going to slow down its campaign against US plans of missile defense.”
4. RF Media on RF Foreign Relations in Northeast Asia
Zavtra (“ON THE EVE OF LUBLYANA”, Moscow, 4-5, June 2001, #24(394) published a two-page article with 8 subtitles. Under the subtitle “Russia-America-Japan,” it claimed that, considering the new Japanese Premier’s renewed demands concerning South Kurils, one should expect worsening of RF-Japan relations. The new Japanese government is in favor of both revision of article 9 of the Constitution banning Japan from having official armed forces and closer relations with the US after a temporary downturn in US- Japan. US President George W. Bush, as different from his “aggressive-indifferent rhetoric” concerning RF has been stressing the importance of US-Japan relations. RF President Vladimir Putin can neither just keep the isles nor return them. 82 percent of RF population are against their return, with the rest preferring to sell them for a high price. The precedent, if created, might result in territorial claims to RF from PRC, Germany, Poland, Finland, Romania and almost all CIS countries. Obviously that would satisfy the US drive to break down the Yalta-Potsdam system. Japan has clearly decided to follow US. Under subtitle “Russia- America-China” in particular, it is claimed that Bush’s thrust for missile defense is in fact aimed to stop the rapid economic growth of PRC and to block the emergence of RF from its crisis. The recent events make one suspect that the US is trying to push RF from Europe and to facilitate its military-political alliance with PRC. The report said that in that way, the US administration would be able both to frighten US taxpayers and to talk to its European and other allies on an entirely new basis. The report also noted an article in RF-published “Kommersant-Daily” magazine which detailed tables of population and armed forces of RF, PRC and Taiwan, “as if the authors really believed in the possibility of a soon full-scale military conflict.” It noted that the US “fifth column” obviously doesn’t care about the question “What does Russia have to do with that?”
5. RF Air Force Reform
The Izvestia (Alek Akhundov, “THE ORDER IS NOT TO BE AGITATED”, Moscow, 2, 06/13/01) reported that a representative of RF Air Force Chief Headquarters told media men that by the end of 2004 RF Air Force personnel was to be reduced by more than 36 thousand. In 2001 only some 7000 officers, 2000 warrant officers and 4000 civilian staff are to be retired. Those structures not directly relevant to combat readiness are to be reduced in order to save funds to be spent on equipment upgrading and training. Altogether RF 3 million-strong so-called power agencies are to lose about 600 thousand enlisted men in 4 years, including RF Defense Ministry force reduction by 400 thousand. Simultaneously RF is to change its Armed Forces into a three-component structure to consist of Air Force, Navy and Ground Force plus three independent arms: (1) Strategic Purpose Missile Force, (2) Air-Borne Force and (3) Outer Space Military Force united with Outer Space Missile Defense Force.
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Gee Gee Wong: napsnet@nautilus.org
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Berkeley, California, United States
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Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Tokyo, Japan
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Yunxia Cao: yule111@sina.com
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Dingli Shen: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
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