China and arms control: Transition in East Asia
- National War College, Washington, DC (United States)
With the Asian security environment in transition from the Cold War structure to whatever replaces it, prospects for arms control initiatives in the region and the attitudes and cooperative mechanisms to implement effective regimes are in a state of flux. Within Asia, Beijing`s conventional and nuclear defense modernization programs, combined with its active arms export program, make China a central player in present arms control regimes and any future agreements. While the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union meant that China lost much of its strategic significance, Beijing`s growing economic and military power guarantee that it will be a major source affecting regional stability - or instability - for the foreseeable future. At present, China is viewed by many as a less-than-perfect partner in efforts to achieve a more effective Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an agreement on a comprehensive test ban (CTB) treaty before 1996 and other non-proliferation and arms control initiatives. To understand why this is so, and to appreciate how the current transition in thinking among China`s elites can help or hinder these initiatives over the long term, it is necessary to more clearly see the post-Cold War world and Asia from Beijing`s perspective.
- OSTI ID:
- 45403
- Journal Information:
- Arms Control Today, Journal Name: Arms Control Today Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 24; ISSN 0196-125X; ISSN ACOTEB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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