MEDIA REACTION: NUCLEAR WEAPON, CHINA'S NATIONAL DEFENCE

UNCLAS BEIJING 004667 DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NUCLEAR WEAPON, CHINA'S NATIONAL DEFENCE -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. NUCLEAR WEAPON "Are nuclear weapons still useful?" Peng Guangqian, a renowned analyst of nuclear and military strategy and one of the founders of Global Zero, expressed in the official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (12/24): "U.S. Defense Secretary Gates has recently stated that the U.S. Government needs to expand its nuclear power in order to deal with resurgent powers like Russia and China, and rogue states like Iran and North Korea. There are questions that should be asked; does America have enough nuclear weapons? Does America need to further expand its nuclear stockpile? As a matter of fact, America's nuclear strength is saturated. Does America really want to destroy the whole world a second time? (Currently, the U.S. has enough nuclear power to destroy the world once.) Even if America has an absolute superiority in nuclear weapons, they do not have the absolute freedom to use them. America's decline from hegemonic status is a result of the excessive expansion of its nuclear capabilities. The superstition of nuclear should come to an end, and the whole world needs to cooperate together on cutting nuclear weapons." ¶2. CHINA'S NATIONAL DEFENCE "Investment in national defense should be increased during times of economic weakness" Guo Yadong, an engineer of the Naval Equipment and Logistics Technology Research Institute wrote in the official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (12/24): "An increase of China's expenditure in national defense will help promote its economy. An increased expenditure in national defense will help achieve the same outcome as increased expenditures in infrastructure. The commercialization of defense technology can also contribute greatly to the nation's economic growth such as GPS technology and the use of the internet. As a rising superpower, if China wants to take on more responsibility, it has to comprehensively upgrade its national defense. This will also lead to a fairer and reasonable international world political and economic order." RANDT