China Seeks to Join Missile Nonproliferation Regime

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Talks are set to begin later this month that could lead to Chinese membership in the primary international effort to restrict missile proliferation, a senior Polish diplomat said here yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 30, 2003).

China is seeking to join the Missile Technology Control Regime, a 33-nation group that agrees to implement similar export controls on missile technology, said Polish diplomat Mariusz Handzlik, who chaired the MTCR from 2002 to 2003.

The first of at least three planned rounds of talks on China joining the regime is scheduled to be held Feb. 15 in Paris, Handzlik said in a speech at the Washington office of the University of Georgia’s Center for International Trade and Security. During the first round of talks, MTCR officials will compare the regime’s control list with the one developed by China for its own national export control system, Handzlik said, adding that Beijing has said its control list is more restrictive than the MTCR’s (see GSN, Dec. 3).

A second round of talks will discuss export control regulatory systems, Handzlik said, and future talks will focus on political issues, such as Chinese nonproliferation policy and the possibility of Beijing joining the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. The code, launched last year and now with more than 100 members, calls on subscribers to exercise “maximum possible restraint” in developing and deploying ballistic missiles and to avoid aiding the missile programs of any countries that might be developing weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, July 2, 2003).

Despite the planned talks, Handzlik warned yesterday that China’s MTCR membership would not be immediate. “It takes time,” he said.

He said the decision to consider China’s membership came after two visits to Beijing last year. There were public indications late last month of China’s interest in formally joining the regime when Chinese President Hu Jintao traveled to Paris to meet with French President Jacques Chirac. In a joint statement released after the meeting, France announced that it supported China joining the regime “at the earliest possible date” (see GSN, Jan. 28).

A U.S. State Department official today, however, characterized this month’s talks as “technical” discussions between Chinese and MTCR officials. The official told Global Security Newswire that the meeting does not have a “membership focus.”

Over the last few months, China has undertaken several measures to strengthen its ability to prevent the unauthorized spread of weapons of mass destruction and related goods and technologies. The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported last month that China has filed a formal application to join another multilateral export control regime — the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 40-member organization that establishes export control regulations for nuclear trade (see GSN, Jan. 27).

In late December, China also issued new export control regulations that included a “catch-all” provision, which requires exporting firms to apply for a license if items to be transferred could pose a proliferation risk, even if the items are not listed on national export control lists (see GSN, Dec. 29, 2003). Handzlik said that all MTCR members need to implement such provisions in their national export control systems.

Also in December, China issued a detailed eight-page white paper outlining its national nonproliferation policies, including the progress made in developing a national export control system. The paper said that China had developed an export licensing system, end-use certification requirements and national export control lists that were “generally the same” as those of multilateral regimes such as the MTCR. In addition, China also noted in its white paper its commitment to enforcing its export control laws and to punishing violators.

“The Chinese government attaches great importance to the investigation and handling of cases of law violation relating to nonproliferation,” the white paper said.

The issue of enforcement, though, has long been a concern (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2003). In 2003, the United States sanctioned a number of Chinese companies, in some instances multiple times, for alleged illegal exports of WMD- and missile-related items. In addition, the CIA warned late last year that the “proliferation behavior of some Chinese companies remains of great concern.”

The State Department official today refused to specify whether the United States would support China’s membership in the MTCR. According to the official, all MTCR members must agree on admitting a new country, and members tend to examine a country’s nonproliferation “credentials” when making their decisions. Such credentials would be a “driving factor” behind the U.S. decision to admit a new member as well, the State Department official said.

Some experts today said that China’s record of poor enforcement caused them to offer only tentative support for Beijing joining the MTCR.

“China has played ‘gotcha’ on this for more than two decades. Maybe the new head of state is really turning things around, but we need to avoid letting our hopes obscure our experiences,” said Richard Speier, a former U.S. Defense Department official who helped to negotiate the MTCR.

Wade Boese of the Arms Control Association warned that the regime should not admit countries “that do not have the intention or capacity to strictly abide by the regime’s terms.”

“The critical issue for MTCR is that all of its current and future members not take actions that undercut the regime’s purpose,” he said.

If China can work to prevent illegal missile-related transfers by its companies, though, then it “could make an important contribution to the regime,” CSIS International Security Program Senior Adviser Robert Einhorn said.

Even if the planned talks do not result in China formally joining the MTCR, Boese said, they might still have some benefit. “What is important is that these consultations help improve China’s export controls and curtail Chinese proliferation activities,” he said.

During his speech yesterday, Handzlik described his efforts over the last year as MTCR chairman to reach out to other countries and to increase the regime’s membership. 

For example, Handzlik said he visited Israel and India, which he characterized as “traditional suppliers,” along with China. According to Handzlik, Israel enjoys a “special relationship” with the MTCR because it adheres to the regime’s guidelines and control list even though it is not formally a member. Such adherence on both the government and industry levels has made Israel’s formal membership in the MTCR less important, he said.

“We are very happy we have a country in the Middle East” that adheres to the regime, Handzlik said.

As for India, Handzlik said there was a “willingness” on New Delhi’s part to work closely with the missile regime. He also said India has expressed an interest in cooperating with some MTCR members in space activities, and that he hoped increased cooperation between India and the MTCR could lead to greater stability in South Asia and between India and China.

Handzlik also said that he has opened diplomatic channels with several countries of proliferation concern, including Libya, North Korea and Pakistan. During a visit to Pyongyang in 2002, Handzlik said, North Korean officials made it “very clear” that they would continue to abide by a self-imposed moratorium on ballistic missile tests, but would continue to export missile technologies.

North Korea’s willingness to remain a missile exporter was made clear last week when Nigeria announced that Pyongyang had offered ballistic missile technology. According to reports, though, Nigeria has decided to rebuff North Korea’s offer, citing the threat of U.S. sanctions (see GSN, Feb. 4).

Handzlik also praised the recent decision by Libya to disclose and dismantle its WMD programs and to destroy all of its missiles that violate MTCR parameters, which are those capable of traveling more than 300 kilometers while carrying payloads greater than 500 kilograms (see GSN, Jan. 28). He said the first sign that Libya intended to change its WMD and missile policies came when it agreed to be in the first round of subscribers to the Hague Code of Conduct (see GSN, Nov. 26, 2002).

Libya plans to cooperate with the MTCR and would like to ultimately join the regime, Handzlik said. He added that if the dismantlement effort is handled well, it could have a positive effect on other Middle Eastern countries, especially Syria.

In his remarks, Handzlik noted his failed efforts to reach out to Damascus, saying Syria refused his visit. “Syria was like a black hole,” he said.

Handzlik also said that Pakistan welcomed his visit, but continued to express concern that the MTCR is an exclusive regime. He said that Pakistan believes India’s first-strike capabilities have benefited from “leaks” by regime members, and that Islamabad wants to see the regime treat both it and New Delhi equally.

In his speech yesterday, Handzlik said that several other countries not traditionally seen as suppliers or as proliferation concerns are also seeking increased ties with the MTCR, specifying Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. Belarus has agreed to increased cooperation with the regime, such as participating in seminars and workshops, he said.

Kazakhstan has expressed a “very strong” interest in joining the MTCR, in part because of perceived benefits for its space activities, Handzlik said. One concern, though, is that Kazakhstan does not yet belong to all international nonproliferation agreements, namely the Biological Weapons Convention, as the MTCR requires, Handzlik said.

He also said that Malaysia sees a benefit to its space activities by joining the MTCR.

In addition, Handzlik said he expected a number of Central and East European countries that joined the European Union and NATO to become MTCR members by the middle of the year.

The issue of expanding the MTCR’s membership was “actively considered” during a regime plenary meeting held in September 2003 in Buenos Aires. A U.S. State Department official told Global Security Newswire at the time that the United States supports the “deliberate, prudent expansion” of the MTCR.

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.