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BRUSSELS, 18 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
NATO has defended on Tuesday maintaining contacts with China to achieve its involvement in the control of nuclear weapons, after noting that Beijing must be willing to participate in arms control agreements and establish limits on the number of nuclear weapons.
In his speech at the NATO Annual Conference on Arms Control, the Allied Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, stressed the need for the members of the military organization to “adapt” their approach in the face of a “more dangerous and competitive” in which Beijing is developing its nuclear arsenal without transparency or control.
Stoltenberg has pointed to Russia as the “most direct” threat to the security of the allies but, immediately afterwards, has stressed that China is rapidly increasing its nuclear arsenal “without any transparency”, while Iran and North Korea are developing ” blatantly their own nuclear programs”.
As he has defended, the allies must have contacts with the Asian giant to address the issue of arms control, after noting that estimates suggest that Beijing will have 1,500 nuclear warheads in 2035. “As a world power, China has global responsibilities. And Beijing It would also benefit from the increased transparency, predictability and security of arms control agreements.”
Thus, the former Norwegian prime minister has stressed that predictability, transparency and verification in the field of weapons benefit the international community as a whole. “Therefore, China should also be willing to sit down and participate in further arms control agreements, including limits on its number of nuclear warheads,” he argued.
In the midst of a debate on the type of relationship that Europe should have with the Asian giant, the Atlantic Alliance has defended keeping communication channels with China open. “We have contacts at team level and regularly with Chinese officials. I met with the Foreign Minister a few months ago and the message is that we are ready to have treatment as NATO but also as individual allies,” he reiterated.
