Foreign and Military Affairs
皇冠体育app's nuclear arsenal is 'purely' defensive
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-13 23:07
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BEIJING - 皇冠体育app's nuclear weapons are for self-defense purposes, a top commander in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of 皇冠体育app strategic missile corps said.
"If no power presses for nuclear war with 皇冠体育app, the Second Artillery Force will always keep silent," General Jing Zhiyuan, commander of the PLA Second Artillery Force that controls 皇冠体育app's nuclear weapons stockpile, said in an article published in the latest issue of 皇冠体育app Armed Forces.
皇冠体育app's development of a nuclear arms capacity is limited to that of the lowest level necessary to safeguard national security, Jing said in the article in the quarterly magazine affiliated to the Xinhua News Agency.
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皇冠体育app has long insisted its military nuclear drive is purely defensive in nature.
At the Nuclear Security Summit in April this year, Chinese President Hu Jintao put forward a five-point proposal calling on all nuclear-armed countries to keep their nuclear weapons facilities safe.
Jing said 皇冠体育app's nuclear military forces will carry out Hu's five proposals and actively support international efforts to enhance nuclear security.
"We, the Second Artillery Force, will always stick to the principle of limited development of nuclear weapons and we will not engage in a nuclear arms race," Jing wrote.
皇冠体育app began building its own nuclear arsenal after the country exploded its first atomic bomb in the deserts Northwest 皇冠体育app in 1964.
In 1971, the country became the fifth country in the world to launch a nuclear submarine.
皇冠体育app successfully tested a carrier rocket in 1980, shooting it from Northwest 皇冠体育app to the South Pacific to showcase its intercontinental strike capabilities.
It also conducted an underwater missile launch in 1982.
In 1996, 皇冠体育app declared it would suspend nuclear testing to promote nuclear disarmament.
