The Hindu : Jiang asks military to prepare for 'struggles'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 14, 2002

International

International

Jiang asks military to prepare for 'struggles'

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE March 13. The Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, has called on the country's armed forces to make "solid preparations for military struggles'' and include anti-terrorism in their duties.

Mr. Jiang, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, in an address to a People's Liberation Army session at the National People's Congress, called for efforts to ensure a high degree of stability, centralisation and unity in the armed forces. Keeping the focus on the Taiwan issue, Mr. Jiang said the "complete reunification of the motherland'' was one of the key tasks for the party and the country in the new century. Mr. Jiang called upon the armed forces to closely follow the latest developments in the military field, saying that the personnel needed to modernise themselves through the use of new technologies.

In a separate development, an analytical piece in the China Daily claimed that the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) conducted by the United States indicated that the American military was "getting ready'' to conduct fresh nuclear tests and develop new nuclear weapons. Zhu Qiangguo, a research associate with the China Defence, Science and Technology Information Centre, said the U.S. military continued to maintain a large number of nuclear warheads in active service stockpiles.

He said the NPR, argued that the U.S., threatened by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their carriers, suggested a new strategy to be put in place. ``It further emphasises that the nuclear deterrence approach in the Cold War period, which was dependent on offensive nuclear weapons to ensure assured destruction, is no longer appropriate. It, therefore, appeals for more emphasis on both missile defence capability and the development of advanced conventional weapons.''

The earlier threat-based approach was built on the one coming from the then Soviet Union. The new approach was based on the capability to deal with potential foes and threats from different quarters, he argued``According to the new capabilities-based deterrence strategy, it is impossible for the United States not to be on guard against Russia and consider it a potential rival. The core function of nuclear weapons as a deterrent against Russia has not been reduced at all. And the nature of mutual strategic deterrence between the two countries will not change,'' the article said.

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