•China has been an active advocate of ultimate complete prohibition, and thorough destruction, of nuclear weapons.
•As Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out on multiple occasions, nuclear weapons must never be used and a nuclear war never be fought
Image: XINHUA
As Kenya plans to begin the construction of its first nuclear power plant in 2027, it needs to have a clear policy on nuclear management in order to avoid its misuse. China is one of the country’s that can offer us best practice in the formation of a nuclear policy.
On March 13, Ambassador Shen Jian, Deputy Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organisations in Switzerland addressed the Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament Agenda Item 2: “Prevention of Nuclear War, Including All Related Matters”.
He started by recalling the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during the high-level segment of this year's CD, that “the nuclear risk is higher than any moment since the end of the Cold War.” Currently, the international security landscape is going through profound shifts and geopolitical conflicts are on the rise.
In addition, Shen noted that the global strategic balance and stability have suffered severe impact, and the risks of nuclear arms race and nuclear conflict have gone up significantly. It is noteworthy that when a nuclear-weapon state is in confrontation with a military bloc that comprises nuclear-weapon states, uncertainties often abound, and there is a real risk of the confrontation escalating into a nuclear conflict.
Within such context, Shen noted that it is necessary for the CD to advance substantive work on prevention of nuclear war. He shared several thoughts regarding mitigation of nuclear risk and principles for the prevention of nuclear warfare.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out on multiple occasions, nuclear weapons must never be used and a nuclear war never be fought. China supports continued dialogue among the five Nuclear-Weapon States on this basis and further discussions regarding feasible measures to reduce strategic risks.
Under current circumstances, the international community must stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, accommodate the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and act on the principles of upholding global strategic stability and “undiminished security for all”.
The second measure is reduction of the role of nuclear weapons in national security policies. In response to the Secretary General's appeal, the five Nuclear-Weapon States should commit themselves to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, abandon the nuclear deterrence policy of first-use, support the conclusion of a treaty of no-first-use of nuclear weapons or issue relevant political statements, and support the CD in negotiating, at an early date, a legal instrument providing negative security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon states.
In the meantime, the international community needs to scale up efforts to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones, including building a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (MENWFZ). Countries concerned need to ratify treaty protocols for relevant nuclear free zones at an early date. China firmly supports ASEAN efforts toward building a nuclear-weapon-free zone, and is ready to be the first to sign the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free zone.
Third is to prioritise prevention over management of crises. China stands for an equal and orderly multi-polar world, where differences and disputes are resolved through dialogue and consultation in a peaceful manner and strategic communication and security mutual trust are enhanced, so that conflicts can be settled and differences managed, and the root cause of crises can be eliminated.
Shen said that China has always followed a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required to maintain national security. China did not attain nuclear weapons to seek hegemony, but to prevent nuclear warfare from happening. China has been an active advocate of ultimate complete prohibition, and thorough destruction, of nuclear weapons.
Regarding the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), China has elucidated its position on multiple occasions and believes that the CD is the only appropriate forum for negotiating the FMCT. China supports the CD in formulating a comprehensive and balanced Programme of Work, and start FMCT negotiations that is participated by all relevant sides according to the mandate of the Shannon Report.
China firmly rejects all accusations that intentionally distort her nuclear strategy and nuclear policy. It needs to be pointed out that a certain country, fixated on Cold War mentality, major country competition and power politics, keeps building military alliances and stoking up bloc confrontation, adheres to first-use of nuclear weapons in order to maintain absolute strategic advantage, and keeps stepping up the role of nuclear weapons in its national security scheme, tailor-makes its nuclear strategy to target other countries and strengthen the so-called “extended deterrence".
Stephen Ndegwa is the Executive Director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communications development think tank, and a PhD student at the United States International University-Africa