§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their evaluation of any negative relationship between the development of a United States national missile defence system and the willingness of China to work constructively with other nuclear weapon states on strategic arms control measures; and what representations they are making to the United States Government in this respect. [HL4649]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe US administration has repeatedly made clear that its proposals for national missile defence have not been designed with China in mind, and has engaged in dialogue with China on this and related issues. For our part, we have discussed the issue with both the US and China in numerous bilateral exchanges.
The Government are keen to see early progress on the various nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation steps agreed at the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, In particular, we want to see negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut Off treaty started without further delay at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament, and we continue to urge all states concerned to agree on a work programme to make this possible.