China Tuesday called for a new concept of security based on
international cooperation, saying that the September 11 attacks on
the United States have once again highlighted the importance of
international cooperation in safeguarding world peace and security.
The statement came as Hu Xiaodi, the Chinese ambassador in charge
of disarmament, was delivering his speech at the First Committee of
the General Assembly.
Hu
is also head of the Chinese delegation to the meeting at the First
Committee, which is responsible for disarmament and international
security.
"This session is held against a special backdrop," Hu said,
referring to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York,
Washington and other parts of the United States, which have claimed
more than 5,000 lives.
"The terrorist attacks in the U.S. have once again highlighted the
importance of international cooperation in safeguarding world peace
and the security of countries," he said.
"They clearly show that in the 21st century when security
challenges are increasingly diversified with the rapid development
of science and technology and the steady deepening of economic
globalization, only international cooperation can bring about real
security," he said.
"To establish a new concept of security based on international
cooperation has become a pressing task of our time," he said.
"International arms control and disarmament naturally fit into such
a new security concept."
"With the concerted efforts of the international community in the
past decades, a basis legal system governing international arms
control and disarmament has been put in place," he said.
"It has become part and parcel of the global collective security
architecture centered around the United Nations and plays a crucial
role in maintaining the global and regional security order," he
said.
In
the new situation, this international legal system should not be
undermined in its integrity and authority, he said. "Instead, it
should be strengthened and improved."
"Any act that detracts from this legal system will prove to be
shortsighted, and will only add uncertainty and unpredictability to
the international security landscape, which serves nobody's
security interest," he said.
"The terrorist attacks in the United States will have far-reaching
ramifications for the international community," he said. "In face
of this horrendous human tragedy, every government needs to
seriously reflect upon its own security strategy and
priorities."
"The bloodshed and the terror have amply testified that a
Maginot-type missile defense simply is not the way to counter the
treat of terrorism," he said.
"Such a defense can only bring to the world a false sense of
security, mistrust among nations, and the ensuing detriments to the
international security," he said.
"Here we call upon the country concerned to heed the appeal of the
international community, stop the development and deployment of
destabilizing missile defense systems," he said.
On
the terrorist attacks, he said, "The Chinese Government and people
were deeply shocked and express their deep sympathy and condolences
to the victims of these attacks," he said.
The Chinese ambassador, while voicing his government's condemnation
of and opposition to all forms of terrorist activities, said, "The
Chinese Government supports strengthened efforts by the
international community to combat terrorism, including the endeavor
to completely eliminate the root cause of terrorism, in accordance
with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and other
universally recognized principles of international law," he
said.
"We stand ready to cooperate with other countries in the fight
against terrorism," he added.
(Xinhua News
Agency 10/10/2001)