BEIJING
- Apr 5, 2002
China Daily
Beijing Conference Argues Space War
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
The Institute for Cooperation in Space (ICIS)
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Participants of an international conference on
disarmament in Beijing called for the international community
to act immediately to prevent the potential danger of arms
being used in outer space.
"Outer space has become a widely-concerned issue at
the conference," said Liu Jieyi, director of the Department
of Arms Control and Disarmament of Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
Liu said an early conclusion of an international legal instrument
on the prevention of outer space weaponization would enhance
the common security of all countries.
"A Disarmament Agenda for the 21st Century," an
international conference sponsored by the United Nations
(UN) and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, ended Thursday in
Beijing.
Some 40 senior governmental officials and experts from more
than 20 countries attended the meeting.
Participants unanimously agreed it is essential to further
enhance international co-operation, maintain international
arms control and a non-proliferation system, and push forward
the multilateral process of arms control, according to a
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Participants had in-depth discussions on major topics including
the role of the UN in the sphere of disarmament, the prevention
of the arms race in outer space, missile proliferation,
nuclear disarmament, military revolution and conventional
arms disarmament.
Participants stressed that unilateralism is not only of
no help, but also a trigger to the further proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
Concluding the conference, concerns were raised about the
US "go-it-alone" trend.
The US was accused of withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty (ABM), and vetoing the Biological Weapons
Convention and the International Criminal Court and its
Nuclear Posture Review, which was revealed last month.
