China said Tuesday that countries that adopt unilateralist policies risk setting off a new arms race.
"Since proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has complex root causes, its settlement should not be limited to non-proliferation itself, but should be reached by addressing both the symptoms and root causes,'' Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said at the opening ceremony of "A Disarmament Agenda for the 21st Century.''
The international conference is sponsored by the United Nations (UN) and the Chinese foreign ministry.
More than 40 senior government officials and experts from 20 countries are participating in the three-day conference which ends tomorrow.
It is the third time China has joined the UN in co-sponsoring an international conference on disarmament.
Tang said it is important for the international community to pay attention to the role of the UN and other international organizations and establish a fair, reasonable and effective multilateral non-proliferation system in which all countries participate.
Tang said the international community is facing more diversified threats to its security. He said all countries should pursue security through co-operation, dialogue, trust and development.
"Problems should be solved through mutual co-operation rather than unilateralism or force,'' Tang said.
Preventing terrorist organizations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction is a new challenge for the international community, he said.
Tang also called on the international community to negotiate legally binding international agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space.
Jayantha Dhanapala, UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, said in his opening remarks that the UN Charter and the Millennium Declaration offer alternatives emphasizing the importance of using social and economic development as a path towards peace and resolving disputes without the use of force.
"Revitalizing the quest for multilateral disarmament is the most certain route to international peace and security,'' he said.
In the following days, delegates will discuss nuclear weapons missile proliferation, missile defence and conventional weapons.
(China Daily April 3, 2002)
