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Taiwan Objects To Use Of US Nuclear Weapons Against China
Taiwan has said for the first time it opposes any use of nuclear weapons by the United States against China, a newspaper quoted a military report as saying Sunday. The defense ministry warned that the use of nuclear weapons in settling the Taipei-Beijing sovereignty dispute would destabilise ties between Taiwan, China and the United States, the United Evening News quoted a defense ministry's written reply to a parliamentary question as saying. The US plan, if realised, "would give the Chinese communist hardliners a pretext to adopt a tougher line" in solving any dispute the ministry said. The defense ministry reiterated Taipei's efforts to make the Taiwan Strait a non-nuclear area which it said would be in the interests of the entire Asia Pacific region. The Los Angeles Times said earlir this month it had obtained a classified Pentagon report revealing the military had been asked to draft plans to use nuclear weapons against China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Russia and Syria. The Pentagon report detailed three scenarios about when the weapons could be used: against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attacks, in retaliation for an attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons and "in the event of surprising military developments." It said one of those contingencies was a military confrontation between China and Taiwan. Beijing responded to the revelation by saying it was "shocked" at the leaked report saying it revealed a "Cold War mentality" was still alive in Washington. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory to eventually be reclaimed, by force if necessary. All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related LinksSpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Russia Voices Concern Over US Nuclear Test Plans Moscow - Mar 29, 2002 Russia is "extremely concerned" that the United States may soon abandon an international moratorium on nuclear testing to make way for development of a new generation of weapons, Interfax quoted foreign ministry sources here as saying Thursday. Chill Settles Over US-China Relations Washington (AFP) Mar 24, 2002 It took less than a month for the veneer of civility applied to China-US relations during President George W. Bush's visit to Beijing to crack. China Hails Own Strategic Nuclear Missile Force Beijing (AFP) March 20, 2002 Chinese state media Wednesday hailed the country's nuclear force and second-strike capability, amid a row over US contingency plans listing China as a potential target for nuclear attack. India Sees New Urgency For Abolition Of Nuclear Weapons New Delhi (AFP) Mar 12, 2002 Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said Tuesday there was a "new urgency" in the need to abolish nuclear weapons because of a growing danger of terrorists getting them.
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