HL Deb 23 May 1994 vol 555 c24WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have been invited by the United States Administration to take part in the 'Team Spirit" exercises being planned for this year.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

No.

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the United States Administration is discussing the options for 'Team Spirit" military exercises with the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and if so, whether the exercises are compatible with the security guarantees offered to non-nuclear signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty by the Nuclear-Weapon States, or with the terms of the Armistice which still remains in force in the Korean Peninsula, and to which the United Nations is a party.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

Exercise Team Spirit is a matter for the governments of the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will now initiate preventive diplomacy within the United Nations Security Council in view of the recent United States decisions to send unprecedented types of weapons to South Korea and to reinstate preparations for 'Team Spirit" military exercises later this year, one option for which is reported to involve "practising an Inchon-type amphibious landing by the Marines, coupled with armour pincer attacks and defensive deep strike operations using large or "gorilla air packages" [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 28 March 1994], together with war fighting "scenarios" that are reported to require the airlifting to Korea of 450,000 military personnel[Aviation Week and Space Technology, 25 April 1994]; and whether, in their view, these activities are contributing to North Korea's overall sense of confidence in the international system of security.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

We have sympathy for the considerations which have led the governments of the US and the Republic of Korea to take these measures. We see no need for the UN Security Council to discuss them.

Forward to